Wilting Rose
by fireflame789
Summary: It's been 3 days since the Breach, and Team RWBY have found a mysterious figure while cleaning up the mess. Who is he? Where and how does he fit into the scheme of life? Taking place just after Season 2, a twist in health will make a butterfly effect for things to come. This is my first story and summary ever. Rated T because of language and sensitive topics. Cover by AHBookworm7.
1. Chapter 1: The Start of a New Beginning

Chapter 1: The Start of a New Beginning

Weiss woke up to a regular day in their dorm. Well, as normal as it could be for Team RWBY. "TWEEEET." A whistle sounded. Weiss scream in surprise as she fell out of bed. "What was that?" She yelled in a frantic tone.

"Good morning, Team RWBY!" Ruby was heard, yelling enthusiastically as Weiss saw the rest of her team bolt up in shock like her.

"Ruby," Weiss said, exasperated. She looked at the fully dressed girl in annoyance. "Was that really necessary?"

"Nope." Ruby replied in a happy tone. "But, get up. We have important business that Team RWBY must attend to," she said in a fake, snobby tone.

"Ruby," Yang was heard from her top bunk. "Couldn't it wait five minutes? It's still… FIVE IN THE MORNING?" Yang groaned and slammed her face into her pillow out of annoyance.

"Nope," Ruby said in yet another happy tone. "We're going back the city to see what we can do to help. JNPR's already there, so get up, and let's go!"

Weiss, Yang, and Blake all pinched the bridges of their noses in sync. It's true, the Breach happened less than a week ago (3 days to be exact), but they were tired of the work they had to do. First, they had to help find civilians, two days ago, they were stuck in a hospital to help with the injuries, and yesterday, they were sent to clear out rubble. "Fine," Weiss said after a moment, "just give us time to get dressed and wake up."

With a nod, Ruby set out to go find them breakfast. As the rest of her team slowly got up, she rushed around to see what they were scheduled to do and to find cookies for her and her team. When she came back with four bags full of sweets, her team was fully awake and in their usual attire. "You guys ready or what?" Ruby questioned.

"We're good. By the way, what's in the bag?" Yang asked in anticipation.

Ruby held up three of the four bags proudly. "Cookies!"

Once again, her team groaned. "Ruby," Weiss started, "couldn't you have gotten something, oh, I don't know, healthy and not just for you?"

"But, it's cookies." Ruby said in shock. "Are you telling me cookies are not a food to be eaten for breakfast?"

The rest of Team RWBY stared at her for a few seconds, all having a blank expression. "Yep," the three of them said.

Ruby started to pout. "Don't worry sis," Yang said, throwing an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "We can make do for a day. Right guys?"

Blake and Weiss nodded, albeit with a groan from Weiss. Ruby grinned back. "Great! Now, Team RWBY will start their new adventure of… search and rescue!"

A few minutes later, the four girls were eating sweets on a Bullhead to Vale. "What's the mission now, Ruby," Blake asked after swallowing a bite.

"Yeah," Weiss stated, holding back a yawn. "I want to know why we have to get up this early for something we've already done."

Ruby had an uncharacteristically serious expression. "Well, according to Professor Goodwitch, a signal from someone's scroll activated about half an hour ago, and since everyone else is on duty or came back from the midnight shift, they wanted to send us."

Blake's ears twitched slightly. "But, why would they want to send us? I mean, couldn't they have sent some of the volunteers from the city to help with the search?" Blake asked, confused.

Ruby shook her head. "It's not that. Of course there are volunteers still searching, but this is a special case." Ruby said, looking at the ground. The rest of her team looked at her incredulously **(AN: Love that word)**. She looked back at them, dead in the eye. "The scroll, it belongs to a student. They didn't want to send civilians into a place that a Hunter-in-Training has a hard time getting out of."

The rest of Team RWBY reeled back in shock. Weiss remembered the guide for all students. According to the guide, if a team was in a dire situation, all available members must activate a distress beacon to call for help. _"If only one is on,"_ she thought, _"where's the rest of them?"_ The others mirrored her thoughts.

When they got to the beacon's location, they found a horrifying scene. Half the block's buildings had collapsed, and the rest were completely unstable, showing holes in walls, broken pillars, crumbling roofs, and fires that were still raging on. Even scarier were the bodies. Dozens of bodies littered the streets, and even though there were no Grimm in sight, the air of a battle zone was still thick in the air.

Yang looked on in horror. "How did no one check on this sooner?"

Blake shook her head in disgust. "I don't know, but we better start clearing out the area."

As they started loading up the bodies in the Bullhead, they didn't notice a figure dressed in black and red watching them from a rooftop warily. As Ruby loaded another body (every time she did this, her body kept trying to throw up her breakfast), she noticed a weird feeling in the air around her. Yang felt it to, and looked around. She quickly saw the figure about to shoot what looked like a pistol at her. "Ruby, watch out!" Yang yelled.

Out of habit, Ruby threw the body into the Bullhead unceremoniously and dived to her left. A loud "SNAP" was heard, and the area where Ruby's body used to be was engulfed in flames. Blake was the first to react to the failed assassination by shooting at the mysterious character. All he did in retaliation was moving his arm in the bullet's path, deflecting off what seemed to be his skin. Blake stopped shooting out of surprise, and the figure jumped from the roof onto the street in front of the 4.

Weiss yelled at the pilot to go back to Beacon for backup. As the Bullhead rolled away, she heard a growl. Team RWBY turned around to look at the mysterious figure. "Where are you taking those bodies?" They heard him ask. For the first time, they had a good look at his attire. He was a man who about as tall as Yang and was completely covered head-to-toe in a black material. He sported a red hood similar to Ruby's, only it obviously wasn't made from wool or cotton, and had traces of black in it.

"I'll ask you again," the figure said, looking at them with one red eye and one blue eye. "Where are you taking those bodies?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, bub," Yang retaliated, as they all got ready with their weapons.

Just then, a loud and rapid pinging noise came from Ruby. Everyone looked at her in confusion, and she was just as confused as they were. Taking her scroll out of her pocket, she saw that they were standing right in front of the distress beacon. She looked up in suspicion. "Where's the survivor?"

The man looked at her in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Ruby said in a bold tone. "There's supposed to be a student survivor here. Where is he or she?"

To their surprise, the man started laughing. "Are you saying that you're students from Beacon? Only Beacon and police issued scrolls can hear those things."

All four girls narrowed their eyes. "Yeah, we are,' said Yang. "So, you gonna tell us where the guy is, or are we going to have to beat it out of you?" Yang emphasized her point by punching her gauntlets together.

To make them even more surprised and confused, the man continued to laugh as he got to his knees, staring at the sky. "Hey, are you deaf or insane?" Yang angrily asked.

"You mistaken me. I'm asking for the location of the bodies because they're my friends. And I'm asking about you guys because I'm the one you're looking for." The man got on his hands and knees, almost bowing to the team. "Thank Oum, it's over. The horrors are over."

Team RWBY relaxed their stances but were still wary. "Wait," Ruby questioned. "You're the student we're looking for?"

The figure stood up, straightened its figure and nodded. "Sorry, you probably don't recognize me." He stopped laughing and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the black material surrounding him molded into clothes. Now, he wore a red shirt, a black wool jacket, black pants with small red stripes on the sides, and black leather boots. His hooded cape was still the same, only this time the hood was off so you could see his face. It was a young boy's face with lightly tanned skin, black hair, red and blue eyes, and he had three scars: one on his left cheek, another went over his left red eye like Weiss, and the last went from the right side of his mouth to the bottom of his cheek.

He donned a bitter smiled, slowly made his way towards them, and stretched out his hand in greeting. "The name's Daniel Gotzon, and the three of the bodies you carried off were the rest of my team."

 **AN: Hey guys, Fireflame here. I'm happy to say this is my first Fanfiction and my first public story outside of school stuff. I'm trying out two different ideas right now: one about the OC character which I will release his bio in the next chapter, and a plot idea that will develop. Hope you guys will love me for the character and love/hate me for the plot idea. Anyways, leave a review, favorite, follow, or do all three. It really helps me out. I need help since this is my first free write story ever. Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	2. Daniel Bio

Name: Daniel Gotzon, Danny, 'The Human Swiss Army Knife'

Race: Faunus

-Characteristic: 6'6" crow wings that are hidden in his hooded cloak and his red eye

Appearance:

-5'8"

-Black hair that goes halfway down his forehead and back of the neck

-Right eye is blue, but left eye is red due to his Faunus nature

-lightly tanned skin.

-average build for a swimmer

Emblem/Symbol: Alchemic symbol of Alembic

Usual Attire (covered this briefly, and the materials will make sense with his semblance)

-Red and black graphene hooded cape. (Imagine Ruby's cape, but this time it's black with patches of red).

-black, wool jacket with his symbol on the back in red.

-Red shirt made of cotton with his symbol on the front

-black polyester pants with 2 white stripes running down each side of the leg

-black leather boots with carbon fiber on the soles and inside

-a black utility belt that contains hundreds (and I do mean, hundreds) of different things like flint, coal, steel chains, and basically the entire periodic table

Semblance: Matter Manipulation (More commonly known as alchemy)

-This might be tricky to explain. Essentially, Daniel takes the components of what a material is made out of, (say, leather is just Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Oxygen) and he turns it into things he needs for the situation at hand. He can alter the bonds between atoms and their energy levels but not the atom itself. For example, he can turn regular air, Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen, into many different things like cotton, leather, polyester, and cellulose since they're all made out of the same basic elements. He does this by using his aura to power his actions by physically touching them to conserve energy, or he can mentally alter things by looking at them. The telepathic version takes time, effort, concentration, and energy, so it's almost useless in battle or heat-of-the-moment situations. (I'm not trying to make him too overpowered.)

Weapons: Daniel is a human Swiss army knife; he can make any weapon on the fly thanks to his semblance and is proficient in almost all weapons besides the scythe (hence the nickname). His main weapons, though, are black and red carbon fiber gauntlets that are made from his cape. He can also use the rest of his outfit to cover his whole body in black graphene (search up Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist and take out the teeth area). He can defend from attacks in a dozen ways each, ranging altering the earth to making armor almost anywhere on his body to using the air itself as a fire shield.

Personality: Kind but wary, loyal a fault, easily angered, usually lighthearted, sarcastic, caring, and socially awkward.

Backstory (brief description since I'll go more into detail later):

-His mom is a crow Faunus and his dad is a human. Daniel gets all physical traits from his dad besides the Faunus parts and his personality from his mom. His sister, Holly, is a year older than Daniel and is a photo copy of their mom with their dad's attitude. When he was 12, the White Fang invaded their previous house, and Daniel saw his dad and Holly shot in front of him. His mom carried him away to a new house on Patch. He spent the next 3 years training at Signal until he caught the interest of Ozpin by saving Team CFVY on a mission. After that he was moved up a year with his new team, DEFS.

 **AN: Hey guys, Fireflame here. Now, you know a little more on Daniel Gotzon. I know, I changed a few pieces of his clothing in this, so I revised the previous chapter. Man, I think I put too much effort into the character and not the plot. Just for his Semblance, I had to do a day's research to make sure he would be as versatile as possible and to double check if I could do half the things I wanted. As some of you can tell, I am a Fullmetal Alchemist nerd and based his Semblance, weapons, and symbol off of alchemy. Leave a review to tell me if you think he's a bit too overpowered or if I made him into a "perfect being", and as always, please follow and favorite this story if you think it deserves the attention.**

 **Anyways, I sorta need your guys' help. I've already got an idea for one person in the rest of Team DFSE, but I want you guys to submit an OC to add to my story. Sorry, he/she has to die, but I'll write backstories to them in flashbacks eventually. They won't be as important to this story as Ruby and Daniel, but I still want you guys to make a team that I can write with. If they're good and detailed, I'll add them to the story. Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	3. Chapter 2: Introductions and Surprises

2: Introductions and Surprises

"So Danny," Yang started. "Where are you from?"

A few minutes after the misunderstanding, Team RWBY and Daniel found themselves in an airship headed for Beacon. To pass the time, Yang kept asking random questions about Daniel's life. "Patch," he replied.

Yang smiled. "Wow, so are we! Hey, why haven't Ruby and I heard of you?"

Daniel had a lopsided grin on his face. "You haven't seen me," he said, "because I was mostly a loner. I've definitely heard of you though, Yang Xiao Long aka the Napkin Eater."

Ruby started rolling on the floor, trying to contain her laughter at that fond memory. Yang, on the other hand, wasn't as amused. Winding up her gauntlets, she said, "We do not speak of that subject. _Ever_."

Daniel held up his hands, feigning innocence. "Alright, alright. Yeesh. But seriously, you were one of the most popular girls in Signal. There was literally no one who didn't know your name when you were still there."

Yang relaxed after the new answer. Looking lost in thought, she said, "Come to think of it, there wasn't a 'Daniel' in my grade. So, how are you from Signal then?"

Daniel rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well," he started. "I was actually moved up a grade."

Ruby's eyes widened in shock. "Seriously?! Me too!" She starts to rapidly wave her arms around in excitement. "I moved up two years. What did you do to get moved up? I had to fight these guys since they were robbing a store, and I was all like, 'WACH-'."

Weiss quickly covered Ruby's mouth with her hand. "Ruby," she warned with annoyance. "You're rambling again."

Ruby blushed and decided to hide her face behind her hood. Daniel chuckled and ruffled her hair through the fabric. "It's fine. I did that all the time like you. Anyways, I was moved up because I helped a team during a mission last year, and they vouched for my skills. Ozpin noticed, and here I am." He ended with a wave of his arms. A soft 'thump' was heard has his hand accidentally hit Blake's stomach. "Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there… um… sorry didn't get anyone's name besides Yang." Daniel said.

Blake extended her hand in greeting. "It's fine. I'm Blake."

Weiss dipped down into a curtsy. "Weiss Schnee."

"And I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby said, pointing a thumb at herself. "Welcome to Team RWBY. What's your team's name?"

Daniel's expression quickly soured. "Team DEFS (Defrost)," he managed to mumble out. He sat on his heels with his head in his hands. "Sorry, bad memories. Don't bring it up so quickly."

Ruby looked down in shame, poking her index fingers together. "Sorry, I forgot." Yang slung her arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

After a minute or two of awkward silence, Daniel shot to his feet. "Hey, don't sweat it," he said, putting on a fake smile. They felt the ship slow to a stop, and the side doors opened to the entrance of Beacon. Daniel got out first and beckoned the others to come. "Come on. I bet Ozpin and Goodwitch are waiting for us."

Team RWBY and Daniel walked for a few minutes towards Ozpin's office, trying to make small talk to pass time: from the music that they liked to the most embarrassing moments of Yang in Signal. "So, after the small fight," Daniel continued his story. "Yang just stormed off from the cafeteria, grabbing the first thing from the lines and eating it on the way out. Suddenly, I hear a girl laughing from Yang's side. When I looked at what she was eating, it was a napkin. A freaking napkin. At this point she was so stubborn and hotheaded that she just ate the whole thing." Weiss, Blake, and Ruby were all holding their stomachs from laughing too hard, but Yang had a murderous look in her now red eyes.

Not even thinking twice, Yang punched him in the gut. Hard. Daniel crumpled on the floor, wheezing and groaning. "I guess I deserve that."

Through her laughter, Weiss managed to choke out, "Wow, Yang. I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff."

Yang glared at her. If looks could kill, Weiss and Daniel would already be dead, arrive in hell, and then they would die again by Yang's wrath. Somehow. "That was one time three years ago," Yang shouted.

A few more seconds of walking after they recovered from their laughing fit (or in Daniel's case, just recovered), they arrived at Ozpin's office. After knocking on the door, they let themselves in only to find that he was not alone; Professor Goodwitch and Ironwood were hovering around Ozpin's desk, ending their argument to look at the five students.

"Ah, Daniel," Ozpin thought out loud. "We were just ending our discussion. Make yourselves comfortable."

The five teens stood shoulder to shoulder in front of his desk. "Now, Team RWBY," Ozpin started. "Can you tell me about the rescue mission?"

Ruby was about to say something, but Weiss started the report. "At about 5:15 this morning, we were sent on a rescue mission since a student's scroll used its distress signal. When we arrived at about 5:18, we found that the block looked like a war zone. Many of the structures were unstable, half the buildings on the block were destroyed, and," Weiss had to suppress a shiver, "we found dozens of bodies littering the streets." Ozpin leaned forward on his elbows, hands folded in front of his mouth, devoting all his attention on the story. "We, Team RWBY, started to load the Bullhead with the deceased to give them to the officials, but we were interrupted by a black and red hooded figure. He appeared to have control over fire since his clothes didn't light up with dust when he attacked us," Ozpin and Goodwitch's eyes widened in surprise. "The first thing he asked us was where we were taking the bodies, so we thought he was in league with the ones who were responsible for this attack."

Ruby continued, "Before any of us could attack him, my scroll lit up, saying that the survivor was nearby. I asked him where the survivor was." Ozpin turned his attention over to Ruby. "The person asked us if we were students since only scrolls issued by the police and schools were allowed to pick up the distress frequency. We said we were, and so he just dropped to his knees and laughed. Turns out Daniel here was the figure and the survivor that we were looking for. We got him back, and now… here we are." She ended, motioning to introduce Daniel.

Professor Ozpin nodded at Ruby and looked at Daniel. "So, Mr. Gotzon," he started, "what's your perspective before the rescue?"

Professor Goodwitch tried to usher out Team RWBY since their presence was not needed, but Daniel waved her off. "Let them stay," he suggested with a sad smile. "After all, the more the merrier."

She skeptically looked at him, but agreed and let Team RWBY stay for the story. Knowing he had everyone's attention, Daniel sat on the floor and took a deep breath. "My team's latest, and last, story started during the Grimm invasion…"

 **AN: Hey guys, fireflame here. Just wanted to let you know thank you for reading this story. Great big shoutout to my newest friend, my beta, TheRetroGamer. Somehow I convinced him/her to help me in my quest of insanity that is my story. It really means a lot to me that you've decided that you'll give this story a thought. I haven't gotten any great ideas for a character, but I've gotten a few decent ones. If you submit an OC, don't make it too cliche; I hate writing things that I know I've read about. I want something fresh and new. **

**I'll try to post 2 chapters every month from now on. If I don't, it's because I'll give a chapter out early or put 3 in one month. Like, favorite, and follow for more chapters! Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	4. Chapter 3: A Dire Fate for Beacon's DEFS

3: A Dire Fate of Beacon's DEFS

 **AN: Hey guys, Fireflame here. I know I haven't done a note in the beginning, but this chapter's a bit special. I've noticed I've done two things with this story. One: this chapter's significantly darker. Two: I haven't done this in the previous chapters, a disclaimer. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer** **: I do not own RWBY, only my OCs and the base plot line.**

-X-The Day of the Breach-X-

"Tell me again, why did we agree to this mission?"

Team DFSE was roaming the downtown streets of Vale as their first Beacon mission. While most first year teams were out and about, Daniel and his teammates were stuck as assistant officers for the local police. Daniel and his teammate, Sapphire, were both on board with the idea of patrolling the rundown part of Vale, but the other two definitely didn't want any part of it.

"I told you, Finnick," Daniel said, exasperated. "We're here because of two reasons. One, I don't want our mission to be boring or for us to fail our first one, and two, it's because ECHO HERE BROKE HER WEAPON A DAY BEFORE THE MISSION WAS ASSIGNED!"

Echo looked at her leader, annoyed and hurt. "Hey, it's not my fault part of Silver Nightmare's gears got locked up. We could've still gone on a better mission. I have a backup knife, anyway."

Echo Itzal was the smallest member of their team. She had blonde hair that reached her shoulders and caramel-brown eyes. Echo was a short girl with a figure of a gymnastic. She wore a sleeveless, silver dress (Sorry, _combat skirt_ ) that seemed to wave in the nonexistent wind, and she wore black running pants and a pair of generic, white tennis shoes. On her right arm was a silver bracelet with a golden trim. Echo was the shyest member on her team, but she was a master of hiding and playing practical jokes; she could tie your shoelaces together and slip away, unnoticed, before you could realize you'd fallen over.

Finnick came up behind Echo and wrapped one arm around her neck, and the other arm reached up and rustled her hair with his knuckles. "Don't worry, Echo," he said in a deep, playful voice. "I know our team can handle anything that comes our way."

Finnick Saffron was without a doubt the biggest member of Team DFSE. He was as big as a bodybuilder and as strong as one. The brown mop that was his hair looked like he woke up from a 10-day long nap. His bright, amber eyes shone with amusement, and his seemingly permanent smirk was still on his face. He wore an orange tank top a size too small for him, black pants, black, leather boots, and a brown holster seated beneath his right armpit with a gun in it. Around his waist was an ammo belt, and on his forehead, Finnick wore his signature black shades.

Echo struggled to get out of Finnick's grasp, but Finnick just held her tighter. Sapphire leaned her arm on Daniel's shoulder as they both smirked at Echo's predicament. "Knock it off, Finnick," Sapphire said. "We still have the last block to sweep through."

Sapphire Oswald, Daniel's partner, was the most serious and sane person on Team DFSE (which wasn't saying much). She had long, auburn hair that flowed down her left side all the way to the middle of her back. Sapphire's calculating sapphire-blue eyes always shone; they either looked like they were trying to find the best way to take a person down or the best way to pick up a person's mood. Her only armor pieces were the chainmail skirt and the dark blue gauntlets on her arm. The rest of her clothes were decently casual: sky blue t-shirt, brown Harrington jacket with sleeves cut off at mid-bicep, jeans with silver and black splatters all over it, and black flats. On her waist, a metal tube could be seen with a dagger and rope next to it. Sapphire was supportive and level-headed, and she was the most patient friend and teammate Team DFSE could want. However, she did have some times where she was a bit… too much of a control freak.

Team DFSE continued walking down the streets of the rundown part of Vale. "Seriously though," questioned Finnick, lacing his fingers together behind his head. "Why are we patrolling Vale's streets? We can take on something harder, can't we?"

Daniel looked down the street in deep thought. "I don't remember, actually. It was mostly because of Echo having only half of her regular weapon, but I think we decided on something easy so we could pull the prank Echo always wanted to pull on Team CRDL."

Echo held up her hands in admission, but she still had a slightly mischievous grin on her face. "Guilty."

Daniel tilted his head back and groaned. Sapphire slapped his side playfully. "Come on, Finn," she said. "Let's get this over with so we can help Echo in her little adventure."

After a few seconds of walking, Echo started to chew on her bottom lip. She was always interested in Daniel, but unfortunately, he never noticed her subtle attempts at flirting. _"Now's my chance,"_ she thought. "Hey, Daniel. Do you want to-?"

She was interrupted by Daniel holding his fist up, signaling for his team to stop. Echo looked at him in concern. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Don't you feel it?"

Finnick and Echo looked at each other. Both of them shook their heads, but Sapphire stood by Daniel's side, narrowing her eyes. "Yeah," she agreed, "the ground's vibrating slightly. Like something's tunneling beneath us."

Finnick opened his mouth, about to call out their teammates' temporary insanity, when suddenly, _'BOOM'_. The ground shook violently, and smoke billowed up from downtown Vale.

Team DFSE turned to the smoke, shocked and slightly afraid. Daniel was ready to sprint at the source of the earthquake, but Sapphire's arm on his shoulder stopped him. He looked back angrily. "What's the matter," he nearly shouted at her. "Can't you see we have to help them?"

Sapphire shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, I want to help. But, Atlas forces will get the before we can, and it's our job right now to protect the people _here_ , in this block."

Daniel only had to think for a second to make up his mind. "Echo, Finnick," he called out. The two rushed over by his side. "Help the people here out of harm's way, and group them on the corner nearest to Beacon. I'll call for some airships to help take them to the school."

The two students nodded and proceeded to enter different buildings. Sapphire gave a two finger salute to her leader before leaving to join the retrieval mission. Daniel set up his scroll to send out a signal for immediate backup and stuffed it back in his pocket.

A few minutes later, with the help of Finnick's Semblance, all of the block's occupants stood at the corner, gathered by Daniel who was pacing in front of them. "Alright," he started. "There should be a Bullhead coming our way in a minute. Let women and children on first. The rest of you, try to keep calm."

A voice was heard in the middle of the crowd. "How come a kid's telling us what to do?" It yelled angrily.

Daniel turned to the crowd and glared. The citizens closest to him took a step back, startled. "Because I'm the most capable one here of protecting you! So just be grateful that we picked up this job, and not some other team that have no regard for the citizens of Vale." That shut up the crowd quickly.

The engines of a Bullhead were heard in the distance as Daniel turned around. Abruptly, the street shook, as if another Faunus rally was occurring. Looking over their shoulders, Team DFSE saw a hoard of Grimm quickly running to them.

Daniel covered his body in a hard, yet flexible, material and got into a boxer's stance. Finnick took two cubes out of his pockets. They morphed into a pair of metallic gloves… well, not really gloves. More like they were a few sheets of metal covering each digit, his wrists, and the back of each hand, all held together by a few straps. On the ends of the knuckle plates there were inch-long spikes coming out of it. Finnick took his place next to Daniel, mimicking his stance.

Echo flicked out her arm with the bracelet. The piece of jewelry grew until it was a silver brace with golden designs covering her forearm and her hand. Extending on the outside of the brace was a crescent blade that covered past her elbow and around her knuckles. In her other hand, she flipped out her replacement knife in a reverse-grip because the other half of Crescent Nightmare, her weaponized bracelets, was still being repaired. Echo ducked down into a crouch like she was about to run a sprint.

Sapphire unclipped the tube on her belt and held it in her left hand. In her right, she held Preserve, a rope dart with a string so thin and strong, that it could slice through stone with ease. She wrapped a portion of the string around her armored hand and twirled the tube in her other one like a baton.

Daniel was about to dash in before Finnick put an arm out in front of him. Finnick looked back at him, his usual playful smirk replaced by a grimace. "You and Sapphire stay back," Finnick commanded. "Echo and I have to be up close, but you guys have some range over the Grimm."

Daniel looked at Echo, seeing if she agreed to the madness. Echo looked back and shrugged, a playful smile still on her face. "Meh," she said. "We've been in worse situations. Knowing our skills, this will be a walk in the park. Protecting the people… Now that's a challenge. Finnick's right, you two need to be back to protect the others." Her image started to blur thanks to her Semblance.

Daniel and Sapphire nodded in understanding. Without a moment's hesitation, Echo and Finnick dashed in the fray. Echo created after images of herself while Finnick literally created other versions of himself with his Cloning Semblance. Sapphire stood her ground while Daniel made a bee-line to the group of citizens.

Finnick was having a great time killing Grimm. Finnick and his clones were holding most of the Grimm back. Every few punches was another Grimm down for the count. If he saw a stray Grimm getting past his small battalion, he just pulled his favorite toy out of its holster: his little "baby", a single-shot revolver with a foot-long barrel, Obliterate. When a Grimm got past him, they would usually find their head blown to bits and their brain turned to mush thanks to Obliterate's stupidly strong stopping power.

Echo's style of combat was unorthodox to say the least. She kept hopping over Grimm and running on walls like she was in a parkour race instead of a Grimm massacre. With every leap, the Grimm underneath her had its head removed. With every stab, the after images caught up to her, stabbing the Grimm over and over again.

Sapphire was in between Daniel and the majority of the Grimm. She started picking off Grimm from a distance, decapitating Grimm with a single throw of her dagger and reeling it back like a fishing line. Once they got too close, she pulled out her hidden weapon. The tube in her left hand turned into a five-foot long, red bastard sword: her trusty Raze. Her thin arms deceived everyone the first time they'd look at her. She packed an immense amount of strength to carry around that behemoth of metal, slicing through Grimm like butter.

Daniel used his Semblance to create a wall of cannons, with the earth around him, in front of the group as they boarded the Bullhead. If a Grimm got through the other parts of Team DFSE's defense, they would find themselves ripped apart by Daniel's bare hands or crushed under mounds of wall Daniel moved onto them.

After a few minutes of fighting, the final Grimm in the wave was cut down by Echo. The streets were filled with Grimm ashes, bullet casings, dust remains, and chunks of earth and wall brought down. Unfortunately, due to the Bullhead's small size, a third of the original street inhabitants were still left. Team DFSE tried to regain their breath, reload all their bullet and dust chambers, and set up more defensive lines to hold out the next imminent wave.

As the citizens went into various buildings to collect supplies and weapons from their houses, the four students sat on the top of the tallest building on the block, waiting. Echo wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, leaving a trail of black on her head. "So Daniel," she began again before she was so rudely interrupted by the Grimm invasion. "How about when this is over, we head over to a place in Vale that's not destroyed and get some ice cream?"

Daniel chuckled softly. "Really, Echo," he questioned, amused. "Now's not really the best time. But, I will try and take you up on that offer." He turned over to Sapphire who was steadying her breathing. "What do you think, Saph? You think you can handle Finnick for a couple of hours by yourself?"

Sapphire laughed, pressing her palm onto her face. "It's fine," she answered. "Go on your little date. I can always drop off Daniel at the training dome to let him bust open Team CRDL's heads."

"Hey, I resent that!" Finnick was heard from the other side of the building, laughing along with them.

Echo looked down, blushing. "It's not a date, Saph."

Sapphire opened up her fingers to look at Echo, not believing a word she said. "Whatever you say…" she said in a singsong voice.

Echo was about to retort when they saw something that made the group's blood chill. The next wave of Grimm was coming, and it was larger than the last. However, that wasn't what made them nervous.

"Who's that," Daniel asked as he cupped his eyes to get a better look at the figure.

"Don't know," Echo said, scraping Crescent Nightmare along the roof menacingly. "But if she's in league with the ones who released the Grimm, then she's another person we're gonna have to take in."

The "person" they were talking about was a figure standing in the middle of the crowd of Grimm, seemingly unaffected by the negative emotions the Grimm were emitting. It was a female by the length of her silky black hair, but her face was covered by a white Grimm mask. She wore a small, red cape, signaling her position or affiliation with the White Fang's most elite group. The figure also wore a red dress with golden designs of flames running down her arms and sides (AN: You guessed it. She's here!).

Team DFSE hopped down from the roof, putting themselves in between the hoard and the remaining stragglers. "So," Daniel began, "same strategy?"

Sapphire nodded her head and replied, "Why not?" But Finnick shook his head.

"No can do, cap'," Finnick said. "We don't know what that girl can do, so if she's good, we'll just get picked off one by one."

Daniel looked at him. "But if we stay together," he shot back, "we'll have a rough time working at the best of our abilities; Sapphire's range and Echo's movements will be really restricted."

Sapphire thought for a second. "How about this," she said. "Echo and I focus mainly on Grimm, Finnick focuses on the woman, and Daniel focuses on helping the others. Sound good?"

They all nodded, but Daniel had a playful smirk. "Why do I have to watch over them?" He asked humorously. "I know I have to babysit you guys, but come on!"

Echo's image blurred again, but the smile on her face was as clear as day. "Just shut up and make your money, Babysitter," she shot back before she shot forward into the Grimm.

They all went to their previous positions, but this time with the slight change Sapphire suggested. Echo attracted most of the Grimm while Finnick rushed the girl.

 _"_ _Here goes nothing,"_ thought Finnick. Before he could get within 15 feet, the girl shot a pillar of fire at him. Finnick rolled away, but not before it burned off most of his shirt. He grumbled, "That was my only clean one," before ripping it off and looking back at the figure. Apparently, she also hated Grimm, because anything that previously stood in the path of the fire was turned to ashes.

"Two can play that game," Finnick shouted at the figure. He suddenly whipped out Obliterate and shot it at her. To his surprise, the figure deflected it with her bare hands, killing a half-dozen Grimm with the ricochet. "Okay," Finnick said to himself, wide-eyed. "Let's try this again."

Finnick reloaded Obliterate before holstering it. He multiplied himself into five copies and rushed her. Using the crowd of Grimm as a distraction, he weaved through the mess of bodies, confusing the character as he advanced. Finnick found out that the Grimm made a 50-foot circle around her, and he rushed in.

The figure managed to burn away three clones before they made it to her, but Finnick and another copy gave her a heavy haymaker to the gut and the face. She went flying across the clearing, but stood up seconds later, more pissed than hurt. Finnick whistled, "Damn, girl," he said impressed. "If I didn't want to punch you right now, I might be turned on."

The woman shook her head. In amusement or disgust, Daniel wasn't sure. "Oh, you poor boy," the figure said in a silky voice. "Your teammates left you to face against me, one of the best criminals in all of Remnant, if not the best."

Finnick smirked as she walked to the center of the clearing. "Are you now," he questioned mockingly. "Well, let me kindly teach you a lesson on how outclassed you are right now."

Finnick made twenty clones of himself, surrounding the woman. All of the "Finnicks" pulled out their versions of Obliterate simultaneously. "Sayonara," all twenty Finnicks said, and they fire, reloaded, and shot her again. Before the smoke cleared from the barrels of the guns (there was a lot of smoke for something of that caliber), the original Finnick collapsed, and the copies disappeared back into him. He was completely exhausted from too much aura exertion.

Finnick smirked. "Now that right there is an amazing combination of pure artistry and an unstoppable force. What did I say? Outclassed."

Without warning, a small bolt of fire shot at him. Too exhausted to roll out of the way, it pierced through his left thigh, burning a hole through the skin, muscle, and bone. He shrieked in agony as the dust cleared away, leaving behind a perfectly fine woman standing with her arm outstretched, flames smoldering on her fingers.

She slowly walked over him, relishing Finnick's pain as he bit his lower lip to stop screaming. When she was in range, Finnick punched her with all his might, only to have her grab it in her hands and twist it behind his back. Finnick screamed again.

"Ah yes," the woman purred in delight. "The sound of agony and screams is just music to my ears." With unimaginable strength in her thin arms, she hoisted him by neck, slowly strangling him. As he clawed her left arm, slowly dying, the woman laughed. "Now, what was that about being outmatched?"

Stopping for a second, Echo looked at Finnick's progress. Her heart stopped when she realized his position. "Finnick!" She screamed. A Grimm appeared in between her and the scene and clawed at her, but she used the second power to her Semblance. Timing it perfectly, she "blinked" back to one of her after images, dodging the attack and jumped, positioning herself so the woman was facing away from her, but Echo could still see her back. Echo threw her dagger with all her might, increasing its speed with the help of wind dust.

 **(IMPORTANT NOTE! PLEASE READ: The following scenes are not to be taken lightly, and include some dark torture and gruesome deaths. If you don't have a strong stomach, please skip the next part until I give another note. I'm concerned for my readers, and I don't want you guys turning into sadistic psychopaths like all good authors and horror writers.)**

As Echo fell, she was too exhausted from the constant battling and the overuse of her Semblance to notice the Deathstalker creeping up on her. When she landed, she heard a sharp "THKK" as her body went cold. Looking down, she saw the tip of a yellow stinger protruding from her stomach, splattering her silver dress in blood. The stinger pulled back while blood gushed through the opening.

Echo collapsed on the ground, holding her stomach with her non-gauntlet hand. Her breath turned into rapid rasps as the light died from her eyes. _"If I see you guys anytime soon,"_ she thought to her teammates, _"I'll kick your ass."_ And on that happy note, the last of the fire died from her eyes, her breath slowed to a stop, and her image returned to normal, only to find the corpse of Echo Itzal, laying on the ground with her blood pooling around her.

Warned by Echo's scream, the woman moved her head slightly to the side, letting the weapon fly by and into the direction of her hand and Finnick's sternum. Without a second to lose, Finnick caught the dagger by the hilt, reversed his grip, and stabbed downwards into her shoulder. Somehow, the woman saw all of this and grabbed Finnick's forearm that was holding the dagger, and burnt it off.

Finnick yelled again, this time weakly as his breath began to fade. As the dagger fell, the woman let go of the stump that was Finnick's arm and grabbed the dagger with two fingers. She smiled menacingly at the dying boy in her grasp. "Now then," she said in a dark, mischievous tone. "Let's have some fun, shall we?"

The woman tossed the dagger high into the air. As her hand tossed the weapon, a glass sword formed in the same one, high above her head. She held it far behind her, and stabbed down, driving the sword straight into the center of Finnick's chest. She let go, leaving the sword still impaled in her victim, as the dagger fell. The sadistic woman caught the dagger by the hilt and stabbed his eye, piercing his brain and killing him instantly.

The woman finally let go of Finnick's throat, letting him fall onto his knees and then his back, partially propped up by the sword still plunged in his ribs. The woman's glass weapon went up in flames, disappearing and letting the body fall fully to the ground.

 **(ENDING NOTE: you can read from here now. Recap: Echo dies by a Deathstalker, the dagger sails past the woman who dodged it, and Finnick dies. I am ruthless.)**

"ECHO!" Sapphire and Daniel screamed as they saw the Deathstalker stalking her. Sapphire threw her dagger into the dark creature's eye, but the damage was already done. As the beast reeled in pain, Echo's body thudded against the pavement.

Daniel turned to Finnick, praying to Monty for some good news. He should've prayed to more deities than one, because the sight of Finnick's dead body was definitely not good news. "FINNICK, NO," he screamed, terrified of the dark figure of a woman casting her shadow menacingly over the corpse.

Daniel collapsed for a few seconds, but then he slowly made his way back onto his feet. "Hey, guys," he called over his shoulder to the group of citizens. They had made a makeshift defensive wall, propping all sorts of homemade weapons over the side.

One of the remaining men looked at Daniel, afraid for his life. "Yeah, kid?"

Daniel only said one word, and it was a word full of hidden meanings. "Run." His voice was full of malice and hatred.

The men didn't have to be asked twice, and they bolted to a safer part of the city. Sapphire came up next to Daniel, crestfallen but angrier than sad. "Why did you do that?"

Daniel looked at her with cold eyes. He held up his scroll. "Just got a message from Beacon."

Sapphire looked at him with hopeful eyes. "And?" She asked.

The next words he said brought down the hope that Sapphire clung onto. "The Bullhead got taken down by a Nevermore. We have no extraction, so I told the guys to make a break for it. Not everyone has to die here." He said motioning to some of the fallen citizens that tried to fight the Grimm head on. "At least if they run, they have a chance to outrun the Grimm as we kill them."

Sapphire looked back at the group of Grimm and the woman, royally pissed. "You get the girl and I get the Grimm?" She asked, fury in her voice. She brandished her bastard sword aggressively.

Daniel took off his hood, showing the face of a true dark monster being born. "Let's dance," he said, then he rushed at the woman.

Looking back, Daniel realized it was a horrible idea to rush a pyromaniac, but he did have a plan. Sort of. When the woman shot a plume of fire at him, Daniel waved his hand in front of him, coating it in aura. However, when his regular aura was a bluish-white, this version of his aura truly reflected his soul at the moment: dark and seemingly void of all light. Out of the air, a pale-white, creamy foam appeared in front of him, extinguishing the flames as they came. When the flames died, the foam sunk the ground, covering it with a weird substance.

"Fun fact," Daniel started with a menacing glare. "There's infinite Carbon in the ashes of Grimm, and there's a lot of Oxygen in the air. Combine them under extreme pressures, and you've got yourself a homemade fire extinguisher." Daniel ended with an animalistic roar as he made a blade come out from his full-body armor's arm and sprinted towards her.

The woman clicked her tongue, annoyed, as she made twin glass swords in her hands. With a clang, the two locked blades as they battled for dominance. The woman was obviously more skilled, making marks here and there on his armor, but as soon as the scratches and dents came, Daniel repaired it using the remains of his enemies.

The woman smirked, thinking victory was near, when she felt her body being set on fire. Well, not literally, but it felt like it. She jumped back, feeling unbelievable amounts of pain scattered around her body. She could feel wounds throughout her body, and she felt like there was an elephant sitting on her chest. She felt a sting in her side and put her hand on it, expecting to find blood. However, the cloth on her side wasn't even pierced, confusing the woman even more.

The figure looked at Daniel in anger. Daniel looked back, confused, but he quickly realized what had happened and smirked. The girl was even more bewildered, but then looked at his partner. Sapphire stood in a heap of dust that was previously an army of Grimm. She was sporting dozens of injuries, ranging from a few cut locks of hair to a dozen slashes in her thigh. Her jacket was torn to shreds, her pants were missing a chunk of cloth at the knees, and her chainmail skirt was torn off at one point due to a slash, cutting it in half. What really caught the girl in red's attention was Sapphire's eyes and wounds. Her wounds were identical to the ones the figure felt, even the three slashes exactly on her side. Sapphire's eyes, while usually a dark, sparkly blue, were completely white and seemingly trained on her.

Sapphire smirked and narrowed her eyes, evidently saying, _"Here's my Semblance, bitch. Enjoy my pain."_

The mysterious figure gritted her teeth. _"I'll make this quick,"_ she thought. She let go of her dual weapons and created a bow and arrow, pointing it at Daniel, and fired.

Daniel spun out of the way, but as he turned back a pillar of fire greeted him. He was blown back from the woman's cheap tactic as the front of his armor was torn off. Before he could sit up, he heard the "Twang" of a string and a "Thunk" from his chest. He saw the arrow protruding from his right chest, going straight through his lung. Daniel's vision blurred as he heard a girl's shriek and an evil laugh fill the air. His throat filled with blood as he spit some out, trying to fight for breath. With one last gurgle, he laid his head back, expecting darkness.

Daniel did not expect his vision to clear and for his body to feel like brand new. He looked down, expecting to see the arrow, but he saw his chest was the same except now sporting a new scar. His mouth was still filled with blood, so he spat most of it out beside him. Daniel sat up and looked around. He couldn't see the killer's figure, but he still saw something equally as horrific.

Sapphire's eyes returned back to her natural color, but her chest had a hole exactly where it should've been on Daniel's stomach. She coughed up blood as Daniel crawled over to her quickly. Sitting next to her, Daniel laid Sapphire's head on his lap. "What did you do," he tried to scream, but all that came out was a quiet, raspy, sobbing voice.

Sapphire looked at Daniel as the light died from her eyes. "Remember?" She said, trying to keep her voice upbeat but failing miserably. Daniel sobbed at her fragile state. "My Semblance is both ways. Either I give my pain or I take it away." She ended with a violent cough, blood spewing from her lips and running down her cheeks, mixing with both partners' tears.

Daniel shook his head, crying his eyes out. "You idiot! You know _you_ have to take the injuries yourself, so why did you? I can't protect you, Echo, Finnick, not even my own family!" He sobbed out, hugging her limp body.

Sapphire reached up shakily and stroke his cheek, wiping away a few tears. "Don't say that," she answered in a raspy, dying voice. "Whatever you think," she leaned up, trembling, gave his forehead a kiss. She fell back into his lap, leaving a bloodied print of her lips on his head. "You were always the best protector a person could ask for." Then, the light in her eyes faded, and she gulped in her last breath.

Daniel snapped. He shook Sapphire, like he was trying to wake her up from a bad dream. At first it was gentle as he screamed her name. But when he kept receiving no response, the shakes became more violent. Eventually, he gave up and hugged her body tightly, soaking his already blood-soaked shirt with blood from his friend.

A snarl interrupted his moment of duress. Daniel looked up to see a small army of Grimm, the next and final wave, all staring at him. Daniel looked back down at the body of his partner and gave her a kiss, leaving his print on her forehead in blood as well. He shakily got up. "You. _You._ _You_ are the reason this happened. _You_ are the reason these corpses lay here. For that, _you_ must pay."

Daniel got to his feet as the mass of Grimm charged. He looked at the group of 100 or more Grimm. Daniel uttered one word: "Mistake".

Suddenly, Daniel's eyes darkened until his entire eye, from pupil to sclera, turned pitch black. Dark aura flowed around him, coming off of his body like mist. When the Grimm charged into the smoke, they disintegrated upon contact, all the elements in their bodies turned to smoke. Daniel let off a demonic yell as all the Grimm in the vicinity vanished as he blacked out.

* * *

-X-Present day in Ozpin's office-X-

"After all that," Daniel continued, "I passed out for the rest of the time, trying to regain my energy. When I woke up, I put up the distress beacon and waited." Daniel was rocking back and forth, cloak wrapped around his body and a cold expression plastered on his face.

He looked at Ruby. "Sorry if I attacked you. When I saw you loading bodies, I took a few assumptions since you have a similar choice of color." His only response was a terrified and disgusted look from Ruby, barely able to understand how brutally murdered his friends were.

"And that's how I'm here," Daniel finished, his head tucked in between his knees and arms hugging his legs tightly. He looked like little kid who was scared, only this "little kid" was scared of his friends' deaths instead of monsters.

Ozpin's blank mask was broken slightly as he looked at Daniel in pity and sadness. But the others… well… calling their expressions only horrified would be an understatement. "A figure that uses fire and glass weapons, hmm?" Ozpin questioned. Daniel nodded. Ozpin stood up and paced behind his desk with a serious expression. "This can't be a coincidence. First, the dust, infiltration, and Torchwick. Now, a city-wide attack and the assassination of most of a freshman team. What's next, an attack on the school itself?" He turned back to team RWBY. "Thank you for supporting a fellow classmate, but it's probably best if you all have the rest you deserve."

Ruby was about to object, but a glance at Weiss's glare and Yang's figure about to drop out of exhaustion and shock was more than enough to change her mind. "Thank you, sir," she said as the team took their leave.

Once they left, Ozpin turned to Daniel. "I'm sorry for your losses. They will not be forgotten. But, there's another point I have to make, and you won't like it. Mr. Gotzon, I'm afraid Beacon regulation has made it a necessity for a team to be comprised of four individuals. There are no loopholes, no exceptions."

Daniel looked at Ozpin, defeat evident in his expression. "Sir, you can't mean-."

Ozpin nodded in reluctant agreement. "I'm afraid so, Mr. Gotzon. If you cannot find a new team that will accept you before the end of your first year at Beacon, we will have no choice but to expel you."

Goodwitch looked at him in shock. "Ozpin," she exclaimed. "Surely we can do something about his situation? After all, his team was killed in action doing what a hunter or huntress should do. Not to mention his skill in battle." She looked back at Daniel's huddled figure, putting on an emotion other than fury or annoyance: pity.

Ozpin shook his head. "I can't change the rule, and I can't make exceptions. The Council has seen to it that I can't use my role as Headmaster to my own desire. I've already done all I can by giving him a year to find a team." He turned to Daniel once again. "You have to understand. I can't send a lone student into missions meant for four, and I can't make missions meant for one. I know you won't want to abandon your old team's name, but this is what a Hunter is meant to do: be flexible and adapt to any situation."

Daniel nodded in acceptance. "I see what you mean, Headmaster, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I'll find a team to join and honor my team by staying at the academy they aspired to graduate."

Ironwood nodded in admiration of Daniel's spirit. He walked over to Daniel, put a hand on his shoulder, and said, "An admirable thing to do, Daniel. Even though I hope for the best in you, I will prepare for the worst. That's why if you somehow find a team that will help you honor your team, you'll have a place in Atlas to stay."

Daniel smiled sadly at him. "Thank you, sir. I'll try not to take you up on that offer." Ironwood chuckled despite the atmosphere and stepped back to salute to him, and left.

Standing up, Daniel dusted himself off. "If you don't mind, Miss Goodwitch," he started, "I would like to go back to my dorm and sleep for a good week and a half."

Goodwitch nodded. "Of course, Daniel. You are excused." On his way out, Daniel heard, "Also, since the Breach has taken most of our students' time, classes won't start for about a month, so there's no reason to get up early tomorrow."

Daniel waved his hand, signaling that he heard. As he walked to his room, he began to worry. He could only recall about 3 teams at Beacon. _'Let's see,'_ he thought. _'There's Team CRDL, but they're a bunch of muscle heads. Doubt I would fit in. Oh, there's CFVY! Dang it, they're a year above me. Team RWBY's good, but living with four girls would probably be a nightmare for me."_

Then, Daniel thought of the darker thoughts. _"I should've been in the front! It should've been me killed, not my three closest friends!"_ He looked up at the ceiling, sighing. _"I still needed to take Echo on that outing."_ It took a few minutes to suppress his tears and sobs, but eventually he did and started walking back to his former team's room, now only meant for him.

He arrived back at his room after a few minutes of getting lost. Opening the door, he suppressed the memories that came with the room he entered. Closing the door, he followed his usual Beacon routine. He hung up his hood on a hook on the back of the door, got out of his attire and promptly threw everything but his cloak away. _"I can ditch everything else since they're ruined, but the cloak stays. As a reminder."_ Daniel into his red and white pajamas, and promptly collapsed on his bed. _'Ah my good old friend, the bed. How I've missed you so.'_ Barely seconds after laying down, he passed out in peace for the first time in days.

 **AN: Hey guys, Fireflame here. I know, this installment was a lot darker than the other chapters. To be honest, I intended to make this the overall theme of this story: dark and more mature than I usually write as. But, I've decided to lighten up the mood for most of the chapters. I've also decided to ship two pairs. You'll get one of them next chapter. This is about as bad as I will get in terms of emotional torture. I've set the bar high, haven't I? Anyways, enough rambling. Be ready for another installment sometime soon. Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	5. Chapter 4: Remembered and Renewed

**Hey guys, Fireflame here. Yes, I'm posting 3 chapters in one month, and no, I'm not posting only one chapter next month. It's because tomorrow is really special. It's my birthday, and I'm saying goodbye to this computer for a new one. And since it's my last chapter before 15 and 2 computers, I'll give you guys a new chapter. No one's seen it first, not even my Beta, so I apologize for my dozens of mistakes. I'll talk to you guys after this. Without further** **adieu...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or anything of that nature. Only my OCs.**

4\. Memories: Remembered and Renewed

Ruby sighed as she sat down on the edge of her dorm's roof, swinging her legs off the edge. It was another rough day of moving debris and caring for the wounded for Team RWBY, having to work from sunrise to dusk. " _At least we don't have class,_ " Ruby thought.

The rest of her team were eating their dinners before crashing for the night. Ruby groaned as she stretched her back. "I should probably head back now," she said to herself. As she started to rise, her foot slipped off the edge, throwing her off balance. She started toppling over the side, flailing her arms in panic. "No, no, no!" She screamed. Ruby closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

Instead of falling straight down to the ground, five stories below to the concrete sidewalk, Ruby felt a pair of arms wrap around her, carrying her in a bridal-style. She peaked one of her eyes open to see a red fabric blocking her vision. Both of her eyes opened fully to see Daniel gliding through the air with Ruby in his arms, seemingly flying with his hooded cape. "Daniel," Ruby yelped in surprise.

Daniel didn't say a word as they touched down safely a few yards away from the dorm. He set Ruby down onto her feet and silently walked away, acting like the last minute of his life never happened.

"Daniel, wait," Ruby said, reaching out to stop him. She grabbed his cape at waist level, pulling it off of his body. For a moment, her vision was obscured by the unusual fabric, then she saw Daniel's back. Her jaw dropped in surprise. "You're... You're," she managed to gasp.

Daniel's head was turned slightly to face Ruby, his face full with shame. He ruffled the feathers on his crow wings that were previously hidden from view. Daniel crouched down like he was ready to jump. "Wait," Ruby called again, but it was too late. Daniel shot off into the air, flying away with his powerful, Faunus wings.

Ruby quickly pulled out her scroll, messaging Yang and her teammates what she was about to do. As soon as she hit send, she sprinted off to the direction of Daniel's flight, utilizing her Semblance to its fullest. Ruby sprinted underneath him, but she kept losing sight of him through all of the buildings.

When Daniel finally touched down, Ruby found them halfway across Vale in a clearing full of stones. Ruby cautiously made her way over to Daniel, who was sitting in front of a group of clustered stones, and presented his cloak, neatly folded in her arms. "You dropped this," Ruby said timidly.

Daniel coldly snatched the cloth away from Ruby. "Why are you here," he snapped at her without looking. "Come to mock my team and heritage?"

Ruby looked around in confusion. Her eyes widened in shock. Daniel hadn't been roaming the skies aimlessly; he reached Vale's cemetery. In front of Daniel were his three friends. Ruby gasped. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

Daniel scoffed. "Yeah, you didn't."

Ruby shuffled her feet. "I'm sorry about your team," she said softly, sitting down next to Daniel. "And I'm sorry about ripping off your cloak, but your wings don't bother me. In fact, they're kinda cool."

Daniel finally looked up from his team's small memorial. He stared at Ruby with watery eyes. "You do?"

Ruby smiled. "Yeah. Yours are definitely cooler than a tail or ears."

Daniel looked back down at the ground, wrapping his wings around his frame. "That's what Echo said the first time she saw them."

Ruby looked ashamed. "Sorry for bringing bad memories."

Daniel rubbed the corners of his eyes. "It's fine." He lied.

Ruby pouted angrily. "It's not fine. To prove it…" She wrapped her arms around his own.

Daniel looked at her annoyed. "Hey," he complained.

Ruby smirked. "Nu-uh, you're not getting out of this one." She started dragging him away from the graveyard. "Come on, we're going to the best place in Vale."

Daniel grumbled under his breath as he reluctantly let Ruby drag him through Vale. They eventually reached a hill looking over the sea. Daniel let out a small "Wow". The water glistened, perfectly reflecting the sunset and turning the sea into brilliant shades of red, orange, and blue. The sky was partially cloudy, covering just a portion of the peaceful, fiery sky. The hill was covered in healthy, green, soft grass, and a single cherry blossom sat at the top.

Ruby smiled at Daniel's reaction. "Come on," she said again. She led him to the base of the tree, laying down in between the roots. Daniel sat beside her, leaning his head against the bark.

"Any reason you brought me here?" Daniel asked with his eyebrow raised. During their trip, Daniel put his hood back on, so both Daniel and Ruby put their cloaks underneath them like blankets at a picnic.

Ruby tilted her head up to look at him. "Tell me about your team," she commanded.

Daniel's expression soured. "I can't," he argued. "All I can think of is how I got them killed." He clenched his hands so hard, his knuckles turned white, and his fingernails dug into his palm. His head was bowed to the ground, and small splashes from his tears rung out from the back of his hand.

Ruby smiled sweetly and laid her hand on Daniel's. "That's why I brought you here," she motioned to the scenery. All that could be heard was a soft breeze, rustling the leaves above them and the blades of grass beneath them. "Here," she continued, "you can't think of anything bad. It's against the law."

Daniel chuckled at her naïve thinking. "Ruby, I don't think it works like that," he replied.

Ruby waggled her finger at him. "None of that thinking," she chirped. "Come on, tell me about how you met your partner."

Daniel put his hands behind his head and leaned back, sighing. " _Well,_ " he thought, " _might as well give it a shot._ "

"Well," he began his story. "She probably hated my guts in the beginning."

* * *

It was the day before Initiation, and Daniel disembarked from the Airship he was on. He breathed in deeply through his nose. "Ah," he sighed in delight. "The smell of Dust, gunpowder, and oil."

Daniel looked around, wondering where the auditorium was. He spotted a girl in blue, alone and observing others from a distance. Daniel walked up to her. "Hello," he greeted. "I'm Daniel." He extended his hand.

The girl accepted the handshake with a nod. "Sapphire," she acknowledged. "May I ask why you came up to me?"

Daniel smiled politely. "Well," he began. "I saw you were alone, so I figure, 'Hey, why not give her some company?' Also," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you know where we're supposed to go?"

Sapphire sighed. "To answer your question: yes, I do know where to go. And you should probably realize if someone's alone, the usually don't want to be talked to." She motioned to Daniel with a wave of her hand. "Come with me. I'll take you to the auditorium."

The two started walking toward the entrance of Beacon. "So, where are you from," asked Daniel.

"Vale," Sapphire responded.

Daniel gritted his teeth slightly. "I'm from Mistral," he went on.

Sapphire nodded. "That's nice."

Daniel sighed. " _I meet the one person that's as antisocial as I am. Great._ "

Sapphire turned her head to face Daniel, not slowing her pace by a fraction. "Do you have any weapons?"

Daniel chuckled. "I have this," he waved his cloak slightly, positioning it over his shoulder.

Sapphire looked at him in confusion, finally showing emotion. "You have a cape," she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Daniel shook his head. "Hooded cloak, and yeah, it's a weapon."

Sapphire scoffed as she turned her head. "I highly doubt it."

The chatter of a bunch of students grew louder as they made their way closer to the auditorium. "Will this help?" Daniel sassed, a dim, blue light emitted from his direction.

Sapphire turned her head, about to throw another verbal jab, but stopped with her mouth wide open. In Daniel's hands were a pair of red and black tonfas, extending just slightly past his elbows. His cloak was significantly shorter, going only down to the small of his back. "How did you do that?" Sapphire blurted.

Daniel smirked. "Semblance," he bragged. "Now, do you think my cloak is a weapon or not?"

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Your Semblance is definitely a force to be reckoned with, but your _cape_ is still not."

Daniel narrowed his eyes, but the he let out a snort and a smirk. He slowed down just enough so he was only a few inches behind Sapphire. She was about to turn to look at him before a cloth covered her eyes and mouth. "Mmph," she struggled.

Sapphire could feel a hot breath breathing down her neck right next to her ear. "Now?" Daniel whispered.

Sapphire felt Daniel's grip loosen and ripped his cloak away from her face. She turned to Daniel who had the biggest shit eating grin on his face, his cloak ruffled but fully intact. His makeshift tonfas had been converted back into his attire. Sapphire's mouth twitched into a hint of a smile. "Ok," she admitted. "It's a weapon."

"Thank you," Daniel beamed. "Now if you'll excuse me." He bent low into a mock bow, taking Sapphire's hand and placing the back of it on his forehead. "It's been a gem talking to a person, especially one with your name."

It took Sapphire a few seconds to figure out the pun, but when she did, it wasn't pretty. "You complete and utter imbecile," she exploded. The hand not pressed against Daniel's head wound back and gave him a hard slap.

SMACK. Daniel reeled back, wincing at the fresh, new, red hand-print still present and throbbing on his face. He looked up and saw Sapphire storming away. "I probably deserve that," he admitted with a chuckle. Daniel winced again and tentatively pressed a hand against the bruise. He slowly made his way into the auditorium, leaning against the back wall as he coped with his painful cheek.

* * *

Ruby was curled up into a ball, laughing her lungs out at Daniel and Sapphire's interaction. Daniel chuckled with her, out embarrassment rather than amusement. "It wasn't that funny," he complained weakly.

Ruby's chuckles increased in intensity. "It absolutely was," she claimed.

Daniel pouted. "Well," he countered. "I bet it wasn't as bad as your first day!"

Ruby's laughter abruptly stopped. "Uhhh, that might actually be true," she recalled.

Daniel's eyes widened as he let out a small huff. "Really," he blurted. "I was just joking about that." Daniel leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. "Tell me about it," he commanded.

Ruby rolled her body so it faced away from Daniel. "Well," she began self-consciously. "Did you hear an explosion while you were walking in?"

Daniel snapped his fingers. "That's what that boom was," he recalled. "I was wondering if it was just my imagination."

Ruby rolled back to face Daniel, her face heating up. "Well that was me," she clarified. "I fell in Weiss's boxes, she waved some Dust in my face, I sneezed, and then boom: explosion."

Daniel smirked. "So you really did have a meltdown, huh?" Ruby groaned and rolled over. Daniel smirked. "What," he asked, faking a hurt tone. "Was it too much of a hot topic?"

Ruby softly thudded her head against the soft ground. "You're just like Yang," she observed, "and that's not a good sign." She rubbed the top of her head. "Come to think of it, I didn't see you in the ballroom where we slept. Where were you?"

"I slept on the roof," Daniel replied sheepishly. "Social interaction isn't really my thing. Too sarcastic for almost anyone."

Ruby groaned in understanding. "I know how you feel," she grumbled.

Daniel smiled. "You want to hear more?" He offered.

Ruby sat up on her heels, faced him, and nodded so fast she might as well be using her Semblance. Daniel chuckled. "Alright, there was this one time during initiation…"

* * *

"Woohoo," Daniel cheered as he launched from his pad. It felt good, flying through the air at fast speeds, not a care in the world. Well, that is until you started to fall. Daniel continued to glide for a few minutes with the help of his wings, his cloak concealing them so it looked like the fabric was able to lift his weight.

As he descended into a clearing, he tucked and rolled upon impact, getting up in a crouch position quickly. As soon as Daniel confirmed he was in no immediate danger, he relaxed and stood up. "Hello?" He called out, cupping his hands over his mouth like a megaphone. "Anyone out there need a partner?"

A few leaves and bushes rustled behind Daniel, a loud thumping reverberating the ground, and he spun around, his cloak morphing into a pair of tonfas. The foliage parted to show Sapphire rolling into the clearing, a few scratches on her face being mended by her aura. She turned to look at the newcomer and scoffed. "Seriously," she complained. "Why do I have to stick with the only person that is able to annoy me on my first day?"

Daniel chuckled. "It's a gift," he boasted.

Sapphire snorted. "More like a curse."

Daniel looked back at where Sapphire came from. "What was the loud thumping I heard," he asked.

Sapphire paled. "That would be an Ursa, a King Tajitu, and a few Creeps."

Daniel froze. He pulled a few pieces of metal from his belt. "Run?" He suggested nervously.

Sapphire nodded as the loud rumbling of the earth picked up. "Run."

Daniel and Sapphire turned in the opposite direction of where the sounds were coming from and sprinted as fast as they could. Even at their top speeds, they knew they wouldn't be able to outrun the Grimm. "Do you trust me?" Daniel shouted through the wind whistling through their ears.

Sapphire ducked another tree branch. "With what?" She yelled back.

"Just do you?!"

"As of this moment, sadly yes!"

Daniel smirked. "That makes one of us!" He jumped of his next step, twisting around in midair. His thumb was coated in a black flint while his middle finger was coated in a grey metal. He snapped his fingers quickly and loudly, and a spark flew from his fingers. He used his Semblance to create a pocket of fuel for the spark in midair, igniting the Oxygen and Hydrogen in the air. The flames spread through the densely packed trees, making a line of fire between the Grimm and themselves.

Sapphire turned her head in shock as Daniel landed, running as he hit the ground. "ARE YOU INSANE?" She shouted at him. "YOU'LL GET US BOTH KILLED."

Daniel smirked. "AT LEAST THE GRIMM STOPPED," he hollered over the flames.

"BECAUSE YOU STARTED A FOREST FIRE," Sapphire screamed, glaring at the pyromaniac.

Daniel shrugged. "Quick fix," he said in a regular voice. He turned back around to lift up his hands, coating them in a bluish aura. In an instant, water started drizzling down from the sky, slowly putting out the flames. Daniel suddenly collapsed to his knees, huffing and puffing while sweating profoundly. "See?" he quipped. "Easy fix."

"YO," a loud voice boomed from behind the two. "Who made the rain? It was supposed to be clear skies." Sapphire and Daniel looked up to see a large teen walking up to them with a swagger in his strides.

Daniel waved in greeting. "How 'ya doing?" He greeted. "Sorry, we're already paired up," he motioned to Sapphire.

The newcomer wave him off. "Nah, I've got my own." He looked over his shoulder to see a forest behind him, but no partner. "Echo," he shouted into the dense foliage.

"Echo, echo," a girl's voice repeated, growing smaller and smaller as it went on. A hysterical giggle was heard shortly after as a small girl in silver dropped down from the cover of the canopy.

The boy groaned. "Echo, please," he begged. "Enough with the jokes."

Daniel let out a hearty laugh. "Let her be, man," he argued. "That was an amazing joke."

The girl named Echo gave a small bow. "Thank you, thank you," she repeated herself, again, making the following words softer and softer.

Daniel gave her a lopsided grin. "Seriously, though," he began. "Don't use the same method twice in a row."

Echo scrunched her shoulders together and backed away, making herself look more petit. "Sorry," she apologized. "I get carried away."

Daniel waved her off. "No worries. Where are my manners? Echo this is Sapphire." He motioned to Sapphire who gave Echo a curt nod and a small smile.

Echo waved timidly. "Hi," she said timidly. "Finnick here's my partner." She pointed her thumb at the previously unnamed member.

The two turned to the now annoyed Finnick. "I'm still here, 'ya know?" He crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently.

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck and laughed. "Sorry about forgetting you."

Finnick put on a dumb smirk. "Damn right you are," he jested. He held out his hand. "Finnick Chazwick, at your service."

Sapphire accepted the handshake. "Sapphire Oswald. And this is Daniel."

Daniel recovered most of his aura and stood up, stretching out his back. "Well," he announced. "We should get a move on."

The others nodded and set off in a light jog in the general direction of the relics. About ten minutes later, they entered a clearing. This time, the clearing was filled with ruins. It looked like the entrance to what used to be a temple, but most of the pillars had collapsed, leaving only a small ring around the outer edges.

Daniel and his friends walked to the middle of the ring. In the center, a collection of altars stood: some empty, some with chess pieces on them. "Chess pieces?" Daniel asked, holding up a golden pawn up to the light.

Sapphire shrugged as she palmed a black pawn. "I guess this is how the professors are going to pair us up," she speculated.

Finnick nodded. "Makes sense, I guess." He slung his arm over Echo's shoulders, bring her in closer to his body. "Come on, let's get the rook over there." He pointed to the black rook nearest to where they came from.

Echo struggled in his grasp. "Let go," she gasped, struggling to breathe.

Sapphire slapped the back of Finnick's head. "Knock it off," she commanded. She beckoned for Daniel to follow. "Come on, Daniel. Let's get the rook as well."

Daniel smiled. "Coming, dear," he joked as he jogged over to her. Echo, who was now out of Finnick's armpit, started chuckling and put her hand to her mouth. Sapphire's eyebrows bunched together in annoyance. As soon as he was in range, Sapphire slapped Daniel again in the same spot, across the face.

"Son of a-!" Daniel cursed, hopping up and down while putting a hand to his cheek.

Sapphire cracked a grin, but it disappeared quickly by a roar from the edge of the clearing. Out of the foliage came the Grimm that Daniel and Sapphire thought they'd outrun: a King Tajitu, a Major Ursa, and a small pack of five Creeps. "Dammit," she cursed under her breath. "I thought we lost them!" Sapphire started pulling out her weapons, uncoiling her rope and coiling it back on her hand.

Daniel morphed his cloak back into a pair of razor-sharp tonfas, keeping his hand coated in flint and steel. "Apparently not," he commented lamely. "So are we gonna sit here, or are we gonna kill some Grimm?"

Finnick cracked his knuckles and neck. He pulled out his metallic cubes and a pair of dark shades. "I don't know," he said, putting on the sunglasses. "I was hoping for an easy initiation." The cubes transformed into a pair of gauntlets on Finnick's hands.

Echo rolled her neck, letting her gauntlets unsheathe their hidden blades. "Eh," she commented. "I've got time." She got on her hands and feet, crouching like a sprinter.

The four rushed in. Echo aimed for the King Tajitu, her Semblance trailing behind her. Sapphire stood in the path of three Creeps, Daniel charged the other Creeps, and Finnick and his clones rushed the Major Ursa. With a few roars, howls, and hisses, the Grimm charged to meet the students head on.

Daniel tore through his half of the pack, whirling and twirling like a ballerina of death. He twisted his body out of the way of a Creep's mouth and decapitated it in midair. The next one charged, trying to tackle him before he hit the floor. Daniel saw his chance and snapped his fingers. The air in front of the Grimm set aflame as it ran through. It squealed in pain just before Daniel landed on it, tonfas first.

Echo ran circles around the snake, sometimes jumping over it to get it momentarily confused. She constantly made cuts appear on its skin, annoying it more than harming. Once it arched its head to strike, Echo made her move. As the King Tajitu's fangs came down, Echo lifted an arm before dodging to the side. As it landed, the Grimm felt Echo's Semblance do its trick, slicing off both fangs with Crescent Nightmare's afterimage. It hissed in pain, but Echo was already above it, coming down with her elbow first. The tip of Crescent Nightmare pierced the Snake's head, killing it instantly.

Finnick surrounded the Ursa with his clones, preparing for it to strike. With a roar, the Ursa slammed its paws into the ground, charging at the clone to Finnick's left. The clone disappeared upon impact, and the other Finnicks came up behind the Ursa, closing in on it quickly. The Grimm was hit with a dozen punches a second, howling in pain. Once it was laying on the ground, recovering from the multiple bruises forming on its body, Finnick and his clones all pulled their versions of Obliterate out of their holsters and simultaneously shot the beast. A chorus of bangs were heard, and all that was left of the Ursa was its dust, scattering in the wind.

Sapphire slowly walked up to the approaching Creeps. When the first came within a few yards of her, she threw her dagger forward, impaling the Grimm in its left side. It hissed in anger but continued pushing towards her. Sapphire twisted to her left with ease, dragging the string with her as the Creep charged past her. She gave a hard yank on the string, causing it to cut the creature in half horizontally. The second and third Creeps were almost on top of her, so she let go of her rope-dart and pulled out her five-foot long bastard sword. The next two Grimm attacked at the same time, both aiming at her sides. Sapphire backflipped out of harm's way, letting the two monsters collide with each other. While they were stunned, Sapphire stabbed one Grimm through the head, killing it instantly. Quickly, she took her sword out with a sickening "THKK" and sliced the head off the last Grimm alive.

All four teenagers looked up at the same time, admiring each other's kills. "So," Echo began. "When are we going back to Beacon?"

"And that was our initiation," Daniel ended his tale.

Ruby chuckled. "Seems like we both did the same things," Ruby thought out loud.

Daniel raised an eyebrow at her. "You killed a pack of Grimm after burning down part of a forest?"

Ruby poked her index fingers, looking down in embarrassment. "Well, it wasn't a pack of Grimm," she clarified. "Just a Deathstalker and a Nevermore. And _I_ didn't burn down the forest. I just… accidentally pushed my partner, making her aim at a tree."

Daniel was silent for a few seconds. Ruby started to worry, but then he fell onto his side, rolling on the ground and laughing. "Ha-ha, you did _not_ just almost burn down the forest without any access to fire, did you?"

Ruby sighed in defeat. "Any who," she blurted, changing the subject quickly. "What's your Semblance anyway?"

Daniel recovered from his laughing fit. "Oh right, I guess I never told you about it." He sat up and put a palm to the grassy slope. His hand slightly glowed with aura, the grass underneath slowly dying away in a circle. Under his palm, a small, red rose began to bloom in the ring of earth.

Ruby oohed as Daniel plucked the rose by its stem. "Here," he said, putting it in her hair, just above her left eye. Ruby blushed as his hands brushed against her hair.

"What was that," Ruby asked as Daniel leaned back.

"My Semblance: Matter Manipulation."

Ruby blinked a few times. "Uh, what?"

Daniel sighed. "How to explain it..?" He rubbed his forehead with the tips of his fingers. "Think of it as like cooking. If you give me the ingredients to a cake, I can make a dozen cupcakes instead. But, I can't make a chicken out of a cake; it has to use the same ingredients. Replace ingredients with elements and you get my Semblance."

Ruby nodded slowly, understanding his vague description. "So," she started, sitting close to him so their shoulders slightly brushed against each other. "You're good at cooking?" She teased.

Daniel huffed. "I wish," he confessed. "Even with my power, I can barely make anything that's not microwavable."

Ruby laughed lightly, smiling at him. Daniel smiled, too. Her laugh and smile were so infectious, you couldn't help but be happy around the red hooded girl. "So, what else do you want to hear?" Daniel questioned.

Ruby looked at Daniel with big eyes. "Can you tell me about your team's funniest moment?"

Daniel sucked in air through his teeth, making a slight hissing noise. "I don't know," he drawled. "It's a bit long."

Ruby's watery eyes quivered, making a small pout. "Please," she pleaded.

Daniel looked away, covering his eyes with his arm. "Alright, alright," he conceded. "Just don't do that ever again."

Ruby threw her arms up in victory. "Yay," she cheered.

Daniel leaned against the tree, ready to tell his story. "This was Echo's first and best prank she pulled…"

* * *

It was a month after initiation, and Team DEFS were sitting idly in their dorm. Daniel was looking over some papers with Sapphire on his bed, and Finnick next to his bed, doing sit-ups.

Suddenly, the door swung open with a bang. Echo marched in sheepishly after. "Oops," she squeaked. "That was loud."

After Daniel and Sapphire recovered from their miniature heart attacks, they looked at Echo in annoyance. "Echo," Daniel huffed. "What's that all about?"

Finnick groaned, hitting his head against the bed frame when Echo startled him. "Yeah, Echs," he nicknamed. "What's going on?"

Echo looked at her three teammates and proudly announced, "I have just created the best prank, ever!"

Finnick blinked. "That's what you're hyper for? A prank?" He echoed.

Echo held her hands behind her back, swaying a bit as she scraped her foot against the ground. "I mean, if you don't want to…"

Daniel made his way over to Echo, draping his hand on her shoulder and pulling her into a one-armed hug. "Come on, Finn," Daniel called. "Why not? We've got the time and energy. Right Saph?"

Sapphire shrugged, stretching as she got off Daniel's bed. "Sure," she replied. "We have already reread the notes so many times, even I'm getting bored of Remnant's history."

Echo looked at her skeptically. "But you said you could study Remnant for days and not be bored."

"Exactly."

Finnick got up from where he was, still rubbing his forehead in pain. "Alright," he joined in. "What's the prank?"

Echo grinned so evilly and smugly, the Cheshire Cat would have been proud. "I'm glad you asked," she beamed. She pulled a large blueprint from behind her back and flattened it out on her bed.

"Where'd she get the paper," Daniel whispered to Sapphire.

Sapphire had an indifferent look and shrugged. "Who knows," she responded.

Finnick and Daniel looked over Echo's shoulders while Sapphire looked at it upside-down. Finnick laughed in excitement. "This is brilliant," he exclaimed.

Daniel had a blank look. "You spent _way_ too much time thinking about this."

Echo beamed. "Thank you." She turned to Sapphire. "You haven't commented," she pointed out.

Sapphire held up a finger. "Give me a second." Her eyes continued to scan the plans. Suddenly, she shot back with an appalled look. "No," she said.

Echo tilted her head to the side. "No? But why not?"

Sapphire glared at her. "I will never sink to that level of… of…"

"Shallowness?" Daniel put in.

Sapphire nodded. "Shallowness," she agreed.

Echo smirked. "But you think it's funny right? And you hate Cardin, too?"

Sapphire nodded. "True, but-."

"Then it's settled," Echo interrupted, clapping her hands together. "The plan is put in motion!"

Daniel and Finnick cheered as Sapphire groaned and flopped back onto the bed. "When do we start," Sapphire asked tiredly.

Echo smiled mischievously. "Now."

* * *

Cardin was walking down the hallways of Beacon, whistling a merry tune as he made his way over to the arena to bust open some training dummies. He was about to reach the last turn until he overheard a heated argument up ahead. Cardin turned the corner to see Daniel, Finnick, and Sapphire, debating about who knows what. They all had that look of wanting to bite each other's heads off.

"Uh, can you move out of the way?" Cardin asked impatiently.

Creepily, all three of the group's heads turned in his direction, smiling. "Hey Cardin," Daniel greeted with a sweet tone.

Cardin backed up, eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Um, hi?" He replied lamely.

Finnick walked over and pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Finally," he announced. "The one person who can end our argument."

Cardin looked at him with a blank expression. "Um, are you talking to me?" He said as he pointed to himself.

Finnick looked at him with a small smirk. "Yeah, Cardin. I am. So tell me." He beckoned Sapphire and Daniel forward. They all crowded a little bit too close to him. "Who do you want to take on a date: Daniel, Sapphire, or me?"

Cardin's jaw dropped so far it ended in Mistral. "Uhhhh," he muttered.

Daniel put his arm around Cardin with Finnick's. "Now Cardin," he began. "All you have to do is tell us the truth." He leaned in with a menacing aura. "And it better be me."

Cardin tried to back up in fear. "Uhhhh," he continued to say.

Sapphire walked over with a sway of her hips, batting her eyes and putting a hand on Cardin's chest seductively. "Oh Cardin," she purred, completely out of character. "All you have to do is answer. You want to go out with me rather than the boys, don't you?" She gave him a suggestive wink.

Now, Cardin wasn't the first cardinal of the bunch to fly, but even he knew that there was only one answer. He took the way out that didn't give him a lifetime of embarrassment, a mental breakdown, and/or the choice that wouldn't terrify him to his core. "Yep. Mm-hmm. Totally. Definitely. Absolutely." Cardin furiously nodded his head. "I'll go out with you, Sapphire," he said way too quickly.

Sapphire smirked as the two other boys groaned and took their arms off of Cardin's back. "I knew we should've tried harder," Daniel muttered.

Finnick nodded. "Yeah, let's go back." Daniel and Finnick slung their arms across each other's shoulders, walking grimly back the way Cardin came from.

Daniel glanced back at Cardin with an evil smile. "See you around," he said in a sickly-sweet tone.

Cardin paled, wondering what was in stake for him. He was turning around to face Sapphire before a small, silver blur caught his eye, going in the direction the other two went. He froze for a few seconds before shrugging, ignoring what he thought as a small trick of the light. He fully turned to Sapphire, an inch from his body. "So Cardin," she purred, tracing her fingers against Cardin's chest plate. "How about I decide where we go, hmm?" She batted her eyes again.

Cardin was prepared for most things, but a girl, flirting this intensely with him, was not one of them. "S-sure," he stammered. "Whatever you'd like is fine by me."

Sapphire gave him a playful smile. "See you at six," she said teasingly. She walked in the opposite direction of the arena, looking over her shoulder and giving Cardin a coy wave goodbye.

Cardin took another step forward and promptly fell flat on his face. "What the hell," he cursed as he got up. He glanced down at his shoes only to find their laces tied together. "How," he questioned the wind, thoroughly confused.

Sapphire let out a small giggle as she turned the corner. Before her body left Cardin's view, she leaned back from around the corner and blew a kiss to him. With another giggle, she skipped away from view, her footsteps echoing through the halls.

Cardin rapidly shook his head and blinked, trying to comprehend the last few minutes of his life. "What did I do," he asked the sky, tying his shoes correctly and walking back to the arena.

Back in Team DEFS's room, Echo was on her bed, rolling around and choking on her own laughter. Daniel and Finnick were washing their mouths out with soap and water. "Blech," Daniel spat out a mouthful of the mixture. "I can't believe I agreed to this.

Finnick was spitting into the sink with Daniel. "Yeah, but it'll be worth it." He gave Daniel a fist-bump. "By the way," he called out to Echo. "Couldn't you have asked out Cardin yourself, Echo?"

Echo peeked her head into the bathroom, giving the two an incredulous look. "Do you know how embarrassing that would be? Me, a small, shy girl, going out with Cardin. _Cardin_."

Daniel leaned his arm on the doorframe. "And it's not embarrassing for Sapphire?!"

Echo put on a large, shit eating grin. "That's the point."

Daniel sighed as he left the bathroom, Echo moving back to sit on her bed. "What did she do now," Daniel scoffed.

Echo smirked. "She wouldn't let me bring cookies back to the room since 'they left crumbs everywhere'."

Finnick laughed as he sat back on his bed. "Well, at least we have it better than Sapphire." They all laughed at this.

A few seconds past, and Sapphire came flying into the room, making a bee-line for the bathroom. Sapphire hunched over the sink and made the most violent retching noise of her life. The rest of her team started cracking up, enjoying her emotional torture. Sapphire poked her head out of the bathroom, a cup of mouthwash in her hand. "That," she said, sounding congested, "was the worst experience of my life."

Echo giggled. "Don't forget," she reminded through her wrists. "You still have a date with him at six."

Sapphire put a hand over her mouth, puffing her cheeks out, her face turning a bit green. She ducked into the bathroom once again to cough her lungs out. Echo fell back onto her bed, rolling around and laughing and snorting at her misery. "I hate you, Echo," Sapphire shouted from the bathroom before washing her mouth out.

Echo waved back at the door. "Love you too, Saph."

Sapphire moved her hand into their view and first flipped her the bird and then gave Echo a thumbs-up. "Nice trip," Sapphire complimented. "He didn't know what hit him."

At six o'clock sharp, Cardin knocked on Team DEFS's door. Sapphire answered it through a small crack. "Hi Cardin," she greeted cheerfully. "I'll be right there." She closed the door before Cardin could respond. Sapphire leaned against the door, facing her friends. "I can't do this," she confessed.

Echo made her way over to Sapphire and softly slapped her face, slightly covered in make-up. "Echo," Sapphire scolded.

Echo bent over to look down at her crouching figure. "You can do this," she commanded. "This is what you signed up for, isn't it?"

Daniel poked his head from behind Echo's back. "Technically, you volunteered her."

Echo waved him back. "Yeah, yeah," she scoffed offhandedly. "The point is go out there and face him like the woman you are!"

Sapphire took a deep breath and looked into Echo's eyes with a serious expression. Echo was smiling until Sapphire spoke. "Echo Itzal: you will not walk away from this unscathed." She stood up and pushed Echo out of sight before answering the door again.

Cardin was dressed in a nice, red dress shirt and a pair of black dress pants. His bowtie was a dark black and his dress shoes were a leather brown. Cardin took one look at Sapphire and his jaw dropped in awe. Sapphire wore a sparkling, dark blue dress that hugged her slim figure, the dress covering her body modestly. The dress started at her collarbone and ended right above her knees, showing off her black and silver flats. "You look amazing," Cardin breathed.

Sapphire blushed, unsure on what to say. "Thank you," she managed. Then, she started going way out of her character. She clung onto his neck, fully supporting her weight on him. With one hand in his hair and the other on his chest, she purred, "You look handsome, too."

Cardin blushed a bright ruby-red. "So," he started, holding out his elbow for Sapphire. "Where are we going?" He asked.

Sapphire took his arm and hugged it close to her chest. Cardin's face turned a shade brighter, feeling her um… assets. "Oh, just to a diner first," Sapphire replied.

Cardin smiled at her. "Let's go then."

As Cardin and Sapphire walked away, Daniel, Finnick, and Echo all poked their heads out from behind the door. All of them snickered into their hands. "How are we going to follow them now?" Finnick asked.

Echo smirked. "We follow," she exclaimed, lifting a finger to the sky.

Daniel looked at Echo. "That helps clarify things," he quipped sarcastically. Echo glared at him, and Daniel paled. "It works," he quickly sputtered.

Echo nodded. "Good. Now, let's go!"

Echo, Daniel, and Finnick snuck their way into a small diner where Sapphire and Cardin were having their "date". All of them changed their outfits to make themselves a bit less conspicuous. The three of them took a booth across from Sapphire and Cardin's booth. "So," Daniel started, wearing all black without his cloak. "Where'd you get that, Echo?"

Echo looked down at her clothes that Daniel was talking about. "Oh this," she asked, holding up some of the fabric from her red and black combat skirt. "I borrowed it from a girl at our school. Her name was something like Rose or something."

Finnick nodded. He himself changed out his usual attire into something classier. He wore a decent, white dress shirt and a pair of khakis. "So," Finnick started. "How are we going to know if Sapphire keeps up the act?"

Echo smirked mischievously. She reached up to her ear and pulled out a small, transparent earpiece. "I'm feeding her information right now," she announced. "I gave Saph the other earpiece just before she prepared for Phase Two."

Daniel sighed and put slammed his hand against his face. "Echo," he growled. "Is this what you've done when you were supposed to be doing your homework?"

Echo slumped in her seat as she put her earpiece back in, embarrassed and red-faced. "No," she denied weakly.

Daniel let out an even deeper, even more disappointed sigh. "Fine, whatever." He pointed a finger at Echo. "Just make sure at least one of us is with you so you actually do your work."

Echo nodded. "Alright." She sat back up, turning her head to face the two on a "date". "Now shush. I'm listening."

Cardin was intently looking through the menu options, sipping his water occasionally. Sapphire, on the other hand, had her face hidden behind the menu, putting her hands over her face as she tried to recollect her thoughts and keep up the act. A waiter came by to their table. "Hello," he greeted. "Are you two ready to order?"

Sapphire looked up with a fake smile on her face. "Yes, I'm ready to order." She closed her menu, giving it to the waiter, and said, "I'll have the chicken pasta."

Cardin nodded as he closed his menu. "I'll have what she's having," he announced.

The waiter wrote down their orders. "Ok," he said. He looked up from his small notepad and smiled. "You're orders will be out shortly."

As the waiter left, Cardin turned back to Sapphire. "So, Sapphire," he began politely. "What do you do in your free-time?"

Sapphire rested her chin on her palm, leaning on the table with her elbow. "Let's see," she wondered, tapping her unnoticed earpiece. "What do I do in my free-time?"

Echo understood the double-meaning and leaned in closer so Daniel and Finnick could help her through the situation. "Just answer truthfully, but make everything sound suggestive," she commanded. The boys in her group snickered into their hands.

Sapphire sighed soundlessly. "I hate this job," she muttered so Cardin couldn't hear. She looked up to her date and smiled. "Oh, I do this and that in my spare time. Sometimes art, sometimes weapons, and sometimes," she smirked mischievously. "I do some _interesting things_ , want to find out afterwards?" She licked her lips seductively.

Being a hormonal teenager, Cardin's mind immediately went to some questionable things. "N-no thanks," he sputtered out, slightly turning red. Sapphire's Cheshire grin grew to even more lengths. Cardin cleared his throat. "H-how do you like Beacon so far?"

Sapphire leaned back in her chair. "It's nice," she commented. "Most classes are well taught, the school itself is nice, and-."

"Mm-hmm." Echo's voice could be heard loud and clear through Sapphire's earpiece.

Sapphire smiled. " _Echo is dying when we get back,_ " she thought. The then directed her attention back to Cardin. "And," she continued. "The boys there are to _die_ for," she ended with a seductive grin.

This kept going on for a few minutes until their meal came. Throughout their dinner, whenever Cardin looked up to see how Sapphire was faring, she made sure she ended each bite of her pasta with a slow and suggestive lick of her lips. That made Cardin instantly take interest of his own pasta, beet-red in the face. Multiple times, Echo, Daniel, and Finnick had to go up and "use the restroom", when in fact they just needed space to laugh their guts out before returning to Cardin and Sapphire's emotional torture.

Once their plates were clean, Cardin and Sapphire engaged in another embarrassing conversation. After about a minute, Sapphire made her move. "So, Cardin," she purred. "What do you say we head back to my dorm and hang out for a bit?" She ended with a wink.

Cardin gave in to Sapphire's constant flirting. "S-sure," he stuttered. "Why not?"

Echo smirked deviously. "Show time," she whispered into her mic. Daniel and Finnick leaned in, a scroll in Daniel's hands to record the next part.

Sapphire smirked. "Good," she said to Cardin. She abruptly stood up from where she sat, hands on the table. She leaned in close to Cardin and whispered, "But you'll never get anything from me. Ever." She ended their fake date with a slap on the cheek and left.

Cardin didn't react because he didn't know how to react. Should he be furious? Should he laugh since it was a prank? Cardin just settled with an expression of confusion, putting his head in his hands like he was contemplating on the meaning of life. In an instant, Finnick was by his table alongside Echo and Daniel who still had his scroll on. "BOOM," Finnick shouted, crossing his arms and making a pair of gang-signs. "You just got pranked, son!"

Cardin looked up at the trio. "Wha?"

Echo snickered. "Your face was priceless the entire way through," she commented. Echo pulled out her own scroll to show a few pictures when Sapphire first asked Cardin out. "See?"

Cardin took a good look at the dozens of photos on Echo's device. "Wha?" He exclaimed again.

Daniel turned off his recording. "Well," he started. "It was nice knowing you. Bye." And with that, the rest of Team DEFS left a very befuddled Cardin in the diner.

As they walked back to Beacon, Echo was laughing uproariously with her teammates. "That was genius," she complimented herself.

Daniel suddenly stopped. "Guess who doesn't think so." He asked, gesturing to the figure in front of them.

Echo paled as she watched Sapphire glare at her, hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently. "Sapphire," Echo greeted meekly. "How's it going?"

Finnick wrapped his arm around Daniel's shoulders. "Well, you two have fun," he said quickly. "Daniel and I will just… head back to our dorm. Ok, Echo? Ok, bye." They then left as quickly as Ruby when she was told there were free cookies.

Echo turned around to see her teammates abandon her to this demon that was Sapphire. "Guys," she complained to the air.

"Ahem," Sapphire cleared her throat, still glaring at Echo.

Shivering, Echo slowly turned to Sapphire. "Hehe," she chuckled nervously. "No hard feelings?"

"You know my Semblance," Sapphire randomly asked. "How I can use the pain I take and enforce it on others?"

Echo looked blankly at her. "Sure?" She replied.

Sapphire donned an evil grin. "I wonder if it works with mental and emotional pain."

Echo paled. "Don't you dare, Saph," she yelled, backing away from the approaching she-devil in front of her.

Sapphire walked forward until her face was inches from Echo's. "Boo," she whispered.

Echo screamed and ran in the opposite direction. Sapphire laughed maniacally as she gave a chase.

* * *

Ruby and Daniel laughed at the fond memory. "Man," Daniel said after a snort, "I can't remember the last time I laughed like that." He laid back on the grassy slope. "It feels good talking about my teammates like this."

Ruby laid beside him, hands behind her head. "So," she began, "does this mean that it doesn't hurt anymore? The memories, I mean."

Daniel shook his head and folded his hands over his stomach. "It still hurts," he explained. "It just... It's dampened down by the happy ones now." Daniel looked over and gave Ruby a sad but meaningful smile. "Thanks for helping me get over their deaths."

Ruby unconsciously scooted closer and rested her head on Daniel's shoulder. She looked at him and smiled back. "It's what I do for any friend in need." She blushed and pulled her cloak over the both of them like a blanket.

Daniel, whose face was bright red, had a large grin on his face as he stared off into the sunset. Caught up in the moment, he wrapped his arm around Ruby's waist and hugged her closer to his body. She answered back by cuddling closer to him, resting her arm on his chest, her head on top of his shoulder, and her leg partially over Daniel's. Daniel ruffled her hair, toying with the small rose in her hair. He gently folded his wings over the pair of them, covering them in a soft, feathery blanket. Ruby closed her eyes, drinking in Daniel's scent, while Daniel looked off at the sunset over the water, sighing deeply. If anyone drew a picture of the scene, it would only be described as serene, beautiful, and cute.

Unfortunately **(AN: I have to)** , they were interrupted by the worst person possible: Yang. Yang walked up from behind the tree that the two were resting under. "Hey, Rubes," she greeted. "What are you...?" Her voice trailed off as she noticed the position that her younger sister and 'boyfriend' were in.

Yang mouthed "aww" to herself as she took out a scroll to take a few pictures from every which angle. Once they were saved, Yang let off a low, and quite loud, wolf whistle. "Dang, sis," she said mischievously. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

Daniel and Ruby's eyes widened in shock. 'Oh crap,' they both thought at the same time. The only thing to come out of their mouths was the sound, "Uhhhhhhh." Unanimously, they both scrambled to untangle themselves.

"Yang," Ruby yelled as she got up. "It's not what it looks like. I was just helping Daniel get over his team."

Daniel was not as confident. He knew what happened when a person tried to ask her out in Signal (he got punched through a few walls), so he got to his knees, and bent over in a praying position. He hoped Yang wasn't as protective of her sister as people said she was. "Yeah," he agreed shakily. "What she said. Please don't kill me! I was too caught up in the moment!"

Yang looked at Ruby, who was shuffling her feet and twiddling her thumbs in embarrassment, and then looked at Daniel, who was still on the ground, praying and shaking in fear. His hood was violently shaking, threatening to fall off at a moment's notice. Yang knew exactly what to do.

Yang got on her knees without breaking eye contact with Ruby. She sat there for a few moments, and then fell to her side, laughing hysterically. "HAHAHA," she laughed in between deep breaths. "YOUR FACES!" Yang was holding her sides, rocking back and forth on her back.

Ruby looked at her sister, confused. "Wait," she started, "you aren't gonna try to murder Daniel? But what about the guy that tried to ask me out? You punched him through the slide."

Daniel also partially got up, sitting on his heels. "Wait, why aren't you trying to kill me?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

Yang was finally free from her burst of laughter, so she got to her feet, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked at the two. "Because of two reasons. One: I know Ruby's personality, so I knew she was gonna do something like this. Two: it's because I," Yang reached in her pocket, "have this." She ended in a singsong voice, brandishing her scroll for Ruby and Daniel to see.

Daniel and Ruby leaned in closer for them to see the scroll's tiny screen. It showed Daniel and Ruby, sitting under a tree, as they enjoyed each other's company a little too much. They noticed how intimate the scene looked, and they both blushed harder than they ever had before.

The two both leaned back from the screen to see Yang with the biggest, most devious smirk on her face. Ruby looked at her in mock anger as Daniel put his face in his hands and laughed in embarrassment. "Yang," Ruby steamed. "Delete it."

Yang turned her scroll around to tap the screen a few times. "No can do, sis," she replied. "Now, who to send it to? Blake? I'll finally be able to see something on her face besides annoyance." She tapped on her contact picture. "Weiss? Oh! Her ice-cold heart will melt under the cuteness!" Yang gushed, dramatically tapping the screen again. "Or how about _Dad_?" She finished with a wind up of her finger.

Ruby snapped. She tackled her sister, wrestling the scroll out of her hands. Sitting on Yang's back, Ruby quickly deleted the picture with a sigh. Throwing the scroll next to its owner's head, she got up and calmly sat by the tree only for her to cover her head with her hood, keeping her hands on the edges of her cloak.

Yang sighed as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. "Well Daniel," she said as Daniel picked his face up from behind his hands. "Today's your lucky day. Since I'm in _such_ a good mood, I'll give you a better chance than the first guy that made a move on my baby sis'."

Daniel backed away slowly. "Um," he stuttered. "W-what kind of chance?"

Yang held up her right hand, every finger pointing up. "Five," she counted.

Daniel didn't get it.

"Four." Her thumb curled into her palm. Daniel's eyes widened in understanding.

"Three." Yang's pinky tucked under her thumb. Daniel made a run for it, rivalling Ruby's speed minus her Semblance.

"Two." Yang's ring finger went down. She turned to her sister who was still hidden by her cloak. Yang smirked. "You know," she said. "I have copies of that picture on my scroll."

Ruby looked up with a dumbstruck expression, only to find what appeared to be a blonde devil smirking at her.

"One," Yang said as her middle finger went down. Her index finger curled to make a fist, and she dashed off in the direction Daniel went.

A few seconds went by as Ruby tried to process the information she was just given. She snapped back to reality when a girlish scream rung through the air. An evil cackle followed it, and Ruby instantly deciphered the meaning. "Yang, no!" Ruby yelled as she sprinted towards the noises.

 **Huh, just realized my birthday is a day away from our greatest creator, Monty's. Anyway... Hey guys, Fireflame's back. I'm sorry, but this ship has sailed. No Lancaster (although it's pretty good) or White Rose (and that is still decent), but Ruby and Daniel: light and Dark. You'll notice in my upcoming chapter's I'm going to try and do this: a sad/angsty chapter followed by a lighthearted one, or vice versa (Sorry if I go a bit OOC at times). I'm sorry if the prank Echo pulled was a bit weird; I ran out of ideas and forgot how to form sentences halfway through writing it. Tell me if you guys want to see something in the near future for this story. I want my readers to be able to actually be a part of my story. As always, please drop a review, a favorite, a follow, anything to help me improve my story. Signing out, Flames of Fire.**

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 **Oh, why not? I'm about to hit 9.9k words. Here's another random excerpt for this chapter's end. It might be out of place, but it's something.**

Ruby was walking back to the dorms after a night of chasing Daniel and Yang. She groaned, longing for a good night's sleep in her comfy bed. As she walked down the sidewalk, a figure in silver appeared from behind a tree. The woman was slightly glowing white, and her image was slightly blurry and opaque, white mist slowly drifting down her figure. A young woman's face appeared where the head would be. Brown eyes glistened as she let a small smile play on her face. The figure stood or floated a few feet in front of Ruby.

"Hello," Ruby greeted suspiciously, reaching for Crescent Rose. "Who are you?"

The woman's face morphed into a smaller and sadder smile. "Hello, Ruby" she replied. "I'm here to thank you. And to answer your question: you should know who I am."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "I'm sure I don't, and what do you mean 'thank me'?"

The woman's eyes clouded in thought, looking off to the distance. "Thank you for helping Daniel get over us."

Ruby's expression turned to one of confusion. "Get over you? Why would-?" Then it clicked. The silver skirt, a blurry image, and the very nature of the person. "You're…"

The ghost of Echo smiled. "First try, Ruby," it congratulated. "Yes, I'm Echo Itzal."

Ruby's mouth dropped in shock. She put a hand to her mouth, eyes starting to water. "But… but-."

"I'm dead?" Echo finished for her. She stared at her hands that were fading in and out. "Tell me, Ruby. Do you believe in life after death?"

Ruby sighed. "I sorta have to, now that you're here."

Echo's specter chuckled. "Fair enough," she said. "Well, there's not really life after death. It's easier to say as 'your body can die, but your soul lasts forever'. That's why I'm here; since my Semblance is- _was_ afterimages, I just pulled an afterimage from when I was alive and jumped back to that."

Ruby put her head in her hands. "I don't understand," she admitted.

Echo groaned as she put her hand to her chin, thinking. "Imagine it as more of a save from a video game. Except this time, I can only tell others of my mistakes instead of correcting them myself."

Ruby picked her jaw up from the floor. "Then can you-?"

Echo shook her head sadly. "No, I'm just using the last of my aura to do this. I can't really live without a body." Echo slowly drifted towards Ruby. She gave her a sad smile. "Thank you for letting Daniel move on. The rest of us are proud of you two."

Ruby looked at her questioningly. "Sapphire and Finnick?"

Echo nodded. "Yep. By the way, next time you see him." Her image started to fade away. "Tell him he still owes me ice cream…" Her voice faded off, and her ghost blinked out.

Ruby sighed, smiling softly from Echo's thanks. "I will Echo," she said to the wind. "Tell my mom I said hi."

And she walked back to her dorm, a small skip to her step.


	6. Chapter 5: Daniel vs Yang

**AN: Ok, first a small announcement. We've breached 1.5k views! Hooray! I also want to thank two things for this chapter. Grammarly . com has helped me out immensely after my Beta and I have failed, and the second thing I'm going to thank will be revealed after this, so...**

5: Yang vs. Daniel

It was two weeks after Daniel's return, and Daniel was able to adjust to the new schedule. Every morning he would wake up and get prepared for the day, then he would find out what jobs he would have to do to repair Vale, and he would work from sunup to sundown with breaks for lunch and dinner. For the first four days, Daniel's arms felt like they were made of lead and he was almost too tired to stand up properly when he went to sleep each night. But, as the days rolled by, his muscles were used to the aches and the jobs became easier since they would do the hardest jobs first. But, once the city was rebuilt, Daniel and the rest of Beacon's students had another nightmare ahead of them: the buildup of schoolwork.

"I don't understand," Ruby complained as her team got up. "Why do we have to make up all the work in a week? Couldn't they have let us done less every day to give us time for homework?"

Weiss wrung out her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in her school uniform. "Knowing you, you would probably use that time to sleep and copy off of the rest of us, which I refuse to let you do."

Ruby got down from her bunk and pushed her index finger into Weiss's chest. "You can't prove that." She dashed around, gathering her uniform, and made her way into the bathroom. Dressing in record time, she shot out of the small area to find the rest of her teammates around the door, waiting for her to finish.

"You ready now, sis," Yang asked. Ruby nodded. "Great." Yang turned to leave the dorm. "Let's get down to the cafeteria so Ruby doesn't get another batch of cookies _again_."

Ruby pouted as they walked through the halls of Beacon, "You said we could eat them if we didn't have enough time."

Weiss looked back at her, annoyed, "It would be fine, but you forced us to eat them _every other day._ " She said with a hint of malice.

Ruby shrugged, "You guys were always waking up late. Not my problem."

As they made their way to the cafeteria, Team RWBY saw Daniel, in his normal clothes, sitting at the end of an empty table, simultaneously eating breakfast and doing some last-minute reading before classes started. Once they got their food, they went over to his table. "Hey, Daniel," Ruby greeted with a small blush.

Daniel looked up from his textbook.

He smiled when he spotted Ruby, "Hey Ruby," he said back, "You guys need a spot to sit down?" He gestured at his near-empty table.

Ruby and her teammates nodded and sat down, Ruby next to Daniel, which made Daniel's face heat up and Yang glare at him, and Blake, Weiss, and Yang across from them. The five of them sat there in silence, the only noise being the occasional sound of silverware, a page being turned by Blake or Daniel, and the light tapping from someone setting his or her drink down. After a few minutes, Ruby spotted Team JNPR walking towards them with trays of food. She stood up, smiling, and waved in greeting. "Hey, guys! Come on, we saved you a spot." She motioned to the rest of the empty seats on the bench.

Team JNPR smiled at the small leader and walked over to them. Jaune and Pyrrha sat next to Ruby, and Ren and Nora sat next to Weiss.

Pyrrha was the first to respond. "Hello Team RWBY, we haven't seen you all for two weeks now. Who's your friend?" The four newcomers looked over at Daniel engrossed in the history of Remnant.

Daniel, who was oblivious to the attention he was attracting, had his shoulder shook by Ruby. He looked up and saw the new team, in their Beacon attire, staring at him.

He waved at Team JNPR sheepishly. "Hey," he said meekly. "I'm Daniel."

Jaune smiled back at him confidently. "The name's Jaune Arc: simple, sweet, rolls of the-."

Daniel interrupted, "Should I hear the rest of his introduction?" He asked the rest of the students sitting there.

There was a collective reply from everyone besides Jaune and Daniel. "Nope."

Jaune sunk lower in his seat as Pyrrha leaned back to wave to Daniel. "Hello, I'm Pyrrha."

Daniel looked at her and frowned. "You sound familiar… Do I know you?"

Pyrrha froze, thinking Daniel was just another fan. "No, I don't think so. I'm from Mistral."

Daniel snapped his fingers. "Now I remember. You were the girl that got her hair stuck in the swing set."

A millisecond later, Daniel found a fork pointed at his throat, held by Pyrrha who was leaning over Ruby's food. "Who did you bribe for that information?"

Daniel chuckled meekly. "I went to your school. Gotzon ring any bells?"

Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock. "Daniel? Your sister almost beat me in the school rankings." She removed the fork from his personal space, and Daniel let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

The rest of the table looked back and forth between Daniel and Pyrrha, shocked. The fact that Daniel and Pyrrha knew each other and that Daniel could give her a run for her money surprised them.

Yang narrowed her eyes in confusion and suspicion. "Wait, you said you were from Patch. How come you also went to a school in Mistral?" She asked.

Daniel clicked his tongue, frustrated and annoyed that he forgot to not reveal his past as easily as he did. "Sorry, I _live_ in Patch," he said. "But, I'm actually from Mistral. I went to Pyrrha's school for my regular education, then my mom and I moved to Patch when I wanted to attend a combat school."

The table's occupants all nodded in understanding. Daniel sighed. " _Wow, I can't believe how good that cover story was,"_ he thought. " _Let's hope they don't ask the wrong questions."_

"You said your mom and you went to Patch," Ruby thought aloud. "What about the rest of your family? Why did you only say you and your mom and not your dad?"

Daniel leaned his face into both hands. " _Bad question number one."_ He thought. "We," he started, the word muffled by his hands, "we… my mom and dad split up. He took my sister, Holly, with him, and my mom has me." " _Not a lie, just not the whole truth."_

All of Daniel's newest friends had a grim but sympathetic look on their faces. "Sorry to hear that," Blake said.

Daniel waved her off. "You don't need to apologize," he assured. Daniel tossed a grape into his mouth. "Well, that's a _grape_ way to start a conversation."

Yang banged her fist on the table, laughing while the others just groaned and collectively slammed their heads into the table. "Daniel, no!" Ruby's voice was heard, muffled by the wood. "We don't need another Yang here! One's enough for a lifetime!"

Yang reached over and held her hand up for a high-five which Daniel accepted with a stupid grin on both of their faces. "Yes," Yang said, "we do. Finally, someone who can appreciate a good pun!"

Daniel waved his finger in disagreement. "No, Yang," he started, "a good pun is just a pun. But a bad pun… oh, the bad puns are definitely better. You don't want a bad 'good pun', you want a good 'bad pun'."

Yang put her chin in her palm, nodding while looking like she was in deep thought. Meanwhile, the rest of the table groaned in response. Daniel looked at them in confusion. "Come on, guys," Daniel said. "Why can't you all appreciate a good pun like us? I mean, we do make some," Yang and Daniel looked at each other mischievously, " _pun-derful_ ones, right?" They ended together.

There was yet another collective "NO" heard from the seven other students, tired of the onslaught of puns. An apple that was thrown by Nora flew over their heads ("Boooo"). Yang and Daniel just laughed hysterically as they gave another high-five to each other.

"So," Daniel started once everyone peeled their foreheads from the table. Daniel stood up and stretched before saying, "I didn't get your guys' names, Green and Pink."

Nora waved at him enthusiastically. "I'm Nora. Wow, your outfit looks cool! Doesn't look good as my outfit, though. Well, not the one I'm wearing right now, although it's still cool. I mean-."

Ren clamped a hand on Nora's mouth, muffled sounds still coming out of it. "What she means is," Ren explained, "she's Nora and I'm Lie Ren, but just call me Ren."

Daniel smiled at him. "Nice to meet you, Ren. By the way, I think you can take your hand off of Nora's mouth now." Ren lifted his hand only for Nora to keep talking random nonsense. Ren quickly moved his hand back to its previous position. "On second thought," Daniel said, "peace and quiet would be better."

Team RWBY and most of Team JNPR nodded in agreement, minus Nora of course. For the rest of their meal, the two teams and Daniel made small talk of things that they had to do over the three weeks, complaining about their boring hardships. Surprisingly, Ruby stayed unusually close to Daniel who was oblivious her and Yang who was giving the two (mostly Daniel) a nasty glare.

"So," Daniel started as their breakfast time dwindled away. "What classes do you guys have first?"

Jaune lifted his finger up slightly. "We have History with Oobleck first, so I guess we should get going," he said, standing up.

Team JNPR got up, said their goodbyes (Nora tried but her mouth was still covered by Ren), and they all left to throw their trash away and leave for their first class, leaving Team RWBY and Daniel left at the table. Daniel turned to the remaining four girls. "And you guys?" He questioned.

Weiss responded first, "We have Combat Class with Professor Goodwitch, of course!"

Daniel looked at them, bewildered. "Then why are you guys in your school uniforms?"

Ruby sipped her milk through a straw and then looked back in confusion. "Why would we do that?" She asked, the straw still poking the inside of her mouth. "The only class we would need any other outfits are Weapon Mechanics with Professor Dooley and Combat Class with… Goodwitch," Ruby trailed off, noticing what she just said.

Daniel chuckled at the team's shocked faces. "Well, you guys should hurry," he advised. "Because you have," he looked at the clock above the entrance to the cafeteria, "fifteen minutes."

As he left, he heard a loud "WHAT" come from the four panicking girls as their trays and trash seemingly flew to their respective disposal areas. As soon as he was ten feet outside of the room, Daniel felt a rush of air past him. His eyes only caught a red blur holding on to a girl in white and a girl in black who were yelling in fear. Yang soon followed them, racing to catch up to the speedy blur. Daniel just laughed at their antics as he made his way to the arena.

Fourteen minutes later, Daniel found himself sitting in the back of the bleachers, leaning his head back on the wall. He noticed Team RWBY was still absent. "Forty," he counted to himself, "thirty-nine, thirty-eight."

When he got to five, Team RWBY came barreling through the doors, out of breath, but correctly dressed and donning their signature weapons. "Finally here, slowpokes," Daniel teased. "You're welcome for reminding you, by the way."

Yang sat next to him, partially angry, and ruffled his hair. "Shut up," she replied, annoyed.

Professor Goodwitch walked into the middle of the arena's tan matted circle with eyes on her scroll. "Good morning, class." She greeted unemotionally. "Now, I know you are all excited to get back to your schoolwork instead of the reconstruction of the city." Most of the students shook their heads. "But, you have to remember that a Hunter's and a Huntress's life is not just about fighting Grimm but also to be there to help his or her citizens. On that note, why not start the class?"

Goodwitch tapped on her scroll a few times, and the monitors on the sides of the walls came to life. Each monitor showed two white outlines of a square on a black background. In the middle of each square, students' faces were rapidly being flipped through. After a few seconds, the monitors finally ended on two opponents. "Daniel Gotzon," Goodwitch announced as Daniel smiled and flashed her a peace sign, "And Yang Xiao Long."

Daniel's smile quickly melted off his face as Yang grinned evilly at him. He let his arm drop to his side, fear evident on his face. " _I'm not getting out of this without a few bruises,"_ he thought.

Yang stood up, not taking her eyes off of Daniel. "I'll see you when your bar's in the red," she said menacingly as she walked off towards Professor Goodwitch. The rest of her team looked at Daniel sympathetically.

"Good luck," Ruby said with enthusiasm.

Blake continued with, "You'll need it," pity evident in her voice.

Daniel smiled back at her. "Thanks," he replied. "And I'll see you guys later when Yang can't fight."

With confused looks on their faces, the three girls looked at Daniel as he was walking to what should be his grave. Apparently, Daniel didn't fear death since he was walking down the aisle with a small grin on his face. When he arrived on the matted floor, Yang was already in position to start. Making his way opposite to her, Goodwitch explained the rules. "This is a recreational duel. Which means intend on harming but not maiming or killing. All legal weapons and methods are allowed, and the match ends when a person forfeits, someone's aura bar drops to the red, a person is knocked out of the arena, or if a person is unable to keep fighting."

Yang prepped both of her gauntlets, Ember Celica. "Now, you feel pain," she said menacingly as her weapons whirled to life.

Daniel smirked back at her. "I'll see you stuck in the floor," he responded as took a boxer's stance.

Goodwitch was about to start the fight before she noticed something. "Mr. Gotzon," she shouted. Daniel looked over at her in confusion. "Where is your weapon?"

Cardin could be heard yelling in the stands. "Ha! The idiot probably forgot he needed one to be in this school."

Daniel chose to ignore the comment and calmly replied, "Technically, I don't have a weapon."

Professor Goodwitch raised an eyebrow. "Technically? But what was the knife I saw you with the last few times you sparred?"

Daniel straightened and rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing. "That would be the spare weapon I borrowed from Echo. I never had a weapon I would always use, so she gave me her replacement weapon to fit in. Now, I'm not using it since… you know… bad memories."

The blonde Huntress nodded in understanding. "Very well," she said. "But, you will eventually have to make your own weapon. I suggest talking to Professor Dooley about your lack of an arsenal."

Daniel laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "I might not have a signature weapon." He grabbed his graphene cape and lightly tugged on it. His hands shone a bright white color before it died down to show his hand was covered in his cape, forming a gauntlet. He pulled his hands away from his attire to show it was physically detached and threw the rest of the cloak over him in a flashy manner. Daniel exposed the crow wings on his back as he took a boxer's stance, smirking at the crowd's gobsmacked expression. "Even so, I do have an arsenal."

Goodwitch showed some emotion by slightly smirking at Daniel's response. She quickly replaced it with a blank expression and turned back to the crowd, anticipating a good fight. "Once I have left the floor," she continued her speech, "the combatants may start the match."

Goodwitch quickly walked off stage, not turning around to always face the two teenagers in the case of cheating. As soon as her feet lifted from the mat that was the battleground, Yang rushed at Daniel, intent on giving an unexpected haymaker. Daniel bent his waist so he was parallel to the ground, and he put his palms on the mat.

Daniel's aura, a bluish-white color, flared around his hands. The mat around his hands disappeared, and a wall of the same material formed a foot in front of Yang's path. A dull thud could be heard from the other side of the wall as Yang's breath was forced from her lungs due to the unanticipated impact. Angrily, she punched it, blowing a hole in the wall big enough for her body since she also used a shell to reinforce her blow. "Are you just going to hide from me," she asked Daniel once she passed through the wall.

Daniel felt the metal ground, hidden underneath the mat. His eyes widened, and a few moments later he donned a mischievous grin. "Maybe," he replied, running around her in a large circle.

Yang narrowed her eyes at that response and chased after Daniel. Goodwitch shouted from the sidelines. "Mr. Gotzon! Do not deface school property!"

Daniel got close to Yang as she threw a mean left hook. He ducked under the blow and pushed her back to force her off balance. "I thought all legal methods were allowed," he replied, not looking at the professor.

Goodwitch was about to shoot out a reply of outrage before she thought about it. Sighing, she said, "It's allowed, but you will have to stay the match to repair the floor. All materials are coming out of your pockets, though."

Daniel smirked as he bent down to make another wall out of the tan mat. "Fine by me," he said.

Yang got fed up and sidestepped the wall appearing in front of her. As soon as Daniel was in her sights, she fired shot after shot at him with her shotgun-gauntlets. Daniel launched himself into the air with his wings to dodge the projectiles and started pelting Yang with an unknown material. As soon as the first piece hit Yang's face, she roared in annoyance. Why? Because the material he threw at her was actually pieces of the mat. "Are you done playing around?" Yang angrily yelled as she shot at the airborne combatant.

Daniel dived down to land on the mat and flicked his right wrist. The flexible arm-piece morphed into a shield that he held up to deflect the stray shots from Yang's weapons. They charged at each other, Yang in a fit of anger while Daniel charged in excitement. Yang always seemed to have the upper hand while Daniel sometimes hopped back to form a wall of the mat in between them, only for it to be blown to pieces by Yang. Meanwhile, Goodwitch was getting progressively angry at the fact of Daniel's lack of respect for school property.

Daniel jumped back once again from another one of Yang's blows, his shield dented so it looked more like the gauntlet he previously wore. He pulled out a small, one-inch cube of gray metal from one of his belt pockets. He seemingly crushed it in his hands with his aura and strength as a small, carbon-fiber crossbow appeared on his left wrist, replacing the gauntlet. He aimed it at Yang as she was still trying to recover from her momentum, the gray-colored bolt gleaming menacingly in the light. "Say cheese," Daniel said as he fired. Yang twisted around right before the arrow would hit her shoulder, landing on her hands, back facing the ground while her face was turned to Daniel.

Yang smirked. "Ha, you probably can't even hit the broadside of… a…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at the golden lock of hair that was falling in front of her face.

It was at this point that Daniel and everyone in the stands knew: He fucked up (AN: That was the most accurate way to put his situation. Sorry K-readers). Every student in the stands bowed their heads, eyes closed, praying for one of two things: Daniel's health and good fortune or for Daniel's health and misfortune. Daniel looked like he was facing the devil himself, and in his eyes, he might as well have been. " _SHIT, SHIT, SHIT,"_ he yelled internally. Then he noticed where Yang was positioned and smirked.

As Yang kept watching the hair fall, Daniel quickly reached into his pockets, finding the materials he needed. When the lock of hair finally rested on the floor, Yang looked up at Daniel, her eyes turning red and her hair set aflame. "YOU'RE DEAD," she yelled as she got to her feet. Daniel paid little attention as he smirked, putting his hands on the ground.

Right about when she was going to charge at Daniel, Yang sank through the floor, giving out a surprised yelp as the floor previously beneath her glowed blue and white. When she looked down, she saw that her body had sunk all the way up to her collarbone, and the "floor" was hardening around her. She looked back at Daniel, noticing the empty vials in his hands that were pressed on the metal floor that was under the mat.

Yang narrowed her eyes. "What. Did. You. Do." She asked threateningly.

Daniel got up and dusted himself off. Panting and sweating heavily, he then gave a two finger salute to Yang. "Oh, you know, just wiped the _floor_ with you."

The audience minus Goodwitch groaned while Yang got even angrier. "YOU DARE," she questioned. "YOU DARE MAKE A PUN IN THIS SITUATION YOU LITTLE-."

Thankfully, Professor Goodwitch interrupted before this story could turn into an M-rated one. "Daniel Gotzon has won the match due to his opponent not able to compete anymore."

Yang looked back at the Huntress. "What do you mean, 'can't fight anymore'," she asked. She tried to get out of the liquidized floor. "I can still-." Only then did she realize that the floor turned back into a solid state. She turned her head to look at Daniel putting on a shit eating grin. Again, she asked, "What did you do?!"

Daniel absentmindedly repeatedly tossed the empty vials up in his right hand. "I already told you, didn't I?" A glare from Yang and the questioning stares from the stands was his only response. He sighed and caught the vials again. "I used my semblance. I can create materials wherever I go, only if I have the right ingredients. So, I can't make diamonds out of an iron bar, but I can make a sword out of iron."

Daniel held up one of the vials. "This little thing used to contain some calcium." He held up the other three vials. "And these used to house some silicon, some aluminum, and water." He turned to Professor Goodwitch. "Professor, do you know what the floors are made of?"

Goodwitch looked at him in annoyance. "The floors were supposed to be cushioning mats that _you_ just ripped up."

Daniel shook his head. "Sorry," he said, "let me rephrase that. Do you know what the _floor_ ," he rapped his knuckles on the metallic floor, "is made out of?"

Goodwitch sighed, shook her head, and motioned for Daniel to explain. "It's a bunch of things," Daniel said, "A bit of stone, some Lithium, a hint of gold," Goodwitch cleared her throat, impatient. Daniel rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Right, so the main one I wanted to say was iron. Iron is key to this, because who can tell me what you can do with iron, aluminum, calcium, silicon, and oxygen?" He asked the class.

The class gave each other confused looks. Daniel sighed. "Seriously? Didn't they teach this in your schools? Fine." He motioned to Yang's body, which was still stuck in the ground to her annoyance. "I can make concrete," he explained. "And if I put enough water into it, I can make it as a liquid. All I had to do was wait as Yang's fire made the concrete harden." The majority of the spectators clapped as Daniel gave them a mock bow.

Goodwitch looked at him, slightly impressed. "Impressive use of your environment," she said with an approving nod. "But, do not make plans based off your opponent's semblance. Make sure you become more versatile than you already are and improve on your hand-to-hand combat. You still had yet to harm Miss Xiao Long." The students looked up to see, indeed, Yang's aura bar was almost full, and Daniel's bar was halfway down. Daniel nodded in understanding and walked off to the side while Goodwitch turned to Yang.

"As for you," Goodwitch started. "This was your worst performance to date. You fought well, even bringing down Mr. Gotzon's aura to 60%." Yang perked up a bit. "But." And there goes her decently good mood. "Your lack of strategy cannot be overlooked. You need to keep a level head that is prepared for anything." She motioned to Daniel. "Your opponent had horrendous close-ranged combat," Daniel pouted, "so you should know to not overextend on blows and instead put quantity over quality in this situation."

Daniel was about to walk away when he heard, "Not so fast, Mr. Gotzon." He turned around to see Goodwitch looking at him with an angry expression. "Now," she continued, "you have to clean up the mess you've created, and please let Miss Xiao Long out of her trap."

Daniel looked around and noticed the damage he had done. There were giant holes littering the mat, broken walls of the mat that Yang punched through, and Yang herself was in one of the holes, struggling to get out. He rubbed the back of his neck again, embarrassingly laughing. He got back onto the stage and rubbed his hands in anticipation. He first grabbed the bolt lodged into the wall that he shot earlier and his cloak that he threw before the fight began. He turned the crossbow on his wrist and the bolt back into the cube of metal and returned the cape back to its former glory, his arm braces disappearing and reappearing on his cape, not a seam in sight.

Daniel turned to face the teacher. "You might want to stand back for this," he warned. Goodwitch nodded and stepped off of the mat and onto the stairs. Daniel cracked his knuckles like a piano player, and then he rubbed his hands together. He walked over to Yang as she looked at him menacingly. Daniel couldn't help but shiver at the glare as Yang smirked in her moral victory. "Promise me you won't immediately punch me when I get you free?" He asked, afraid of his own health.

Yang just stared at him. "Not immediately."

Daniel shrugged. " _Best offer I'm going to get,"_ he thought to himself. He sighed as he put his hands on the patch of the floor next to Yang's arm. The floor quickly liquidized under Daniel's semblance. "Hurry before it hardens again," he said, holding his hand out. Yang took her chance and took his hand, hoisting herself out of the goop with a sick squelch. When she got out, her body was covered in cement still drying.

Yang held her arms away from the rest of her body in disgust. Daniel looked sheepishly at her condition. "Sorry, that was the first thing I could think of. You were beating me, after all."

Yang's eyes just had hatred and disgust running through them. "Uh, I call bull. You definitely thought this when you put up that first wall."

Daniel held up his hands. "Guilty as charged." Yang decided to punch him, albeit softly since she was tired after struggling in the concrete. Still, Daniel bent over from the impact, still laughing but mixed with his wheezing. Daniel smiled, knowing how to get revenge. He pointed to the air above Yang, coating his hand in aura once again. Suddenly, a large pool of water appeared above Yang and promptly fell on her. With a loud yelp, she felt the pressure of all the water hitting her, cleaning off all of the cement, but also giving her clothes a good soak. With water dripping from the rest of her hair, Yang looked murderously at Daniel.

Daniel held up his hands again in a "Don't kill me" fashion. "What," he asked timidly. "You needed a rinse." The audience around them laughed gleefully at the scene, and Ruby was recording the entire thing on her scroll just in case she needed blackmail on her sister.

Yang attempted to cool off and somehow succeeded in not punching Daniel. She looked at him in confusion. "Where did the water come from?" Yang asked.

Daniel spread his arms out in a dramatic fashion. "You're looking at it. The air around us helped." He explained. "Water's just H2O, and the air around us has traces of hydrogen and a lot of oxygen." He bent down to turn the wet cement back into the original floor with the objects he used, minus the water, resting on top of it. He picked up the materials and put them in their containers and then into his pockets.

Daniel motioned for Yang to get off of the mat, and she stormed off to the locker-room. Daniel got on the mat and put his palms on the mat, channeling his aura once again. The entire floor glowed a bright blue. A minute went by, and when the light died down, the sparring mat looked brand new. Daniel, on the other hand, was completely out of steam, hunched over, breathing heavily, and sweating profoundly.

Goodwitch looked at Daniel, confused. "How did you gather all the materials that you both used?" She remembered seeing large chunks of the walls Yang blasted through being blown in every which way.

Daniel looked back at Goodwitch. "I didn't," he replied through deep breaths. "It might look brand new," he stood up, tapping the mat with his shoe, "but this new one is about an inch and a half shorter than the one Yang and I used."

Goodwitch sighed, having to use the floor that he gave her. "Fine," she said with an exasperated tone. "Just get off of the floor so someone else can use it."

Daniel nodded. "Yes, professor." He got off the arena and tiredly walked up the stairs to a shocked Weiss, Ruby, and Blake. Yang was one of the top students in their grade, and Daniel beat her without directly landing a blow on her.

Daniel seated himself by Ruby and stretched his hands over his head. "Man, I hate your sister." He told Ruby. Ruby glared at him in surprise and anger. Daniel noticed her expression from the corner of his eye and chuckled. "Shoot. That came out wrong. I hate her because she really packs a punch. I really don't want to get on her bad side anymore." Ruby softened her gaze and relaxed in her chair.

Goodwitch walked into the middle of the arena once again. "That was an excellent way to start the day. Now, let's see who our next to combatants are." The screens on the walls flickered again through the different student faces.

Daniel yawned. "Man, I'm so tired after that fight. Wake me up when the class is over, please," Daniel politely asked as he started to nod off. He laid down on the bench, and his last thought was, " _I didn't know that the benches were this soft."_

Weiss looked over Blake's shoulders and over at Ruby. "So Ruby," she tried making small talk. "What did you think about Yang and Daniel's match?" After a few seconds of no reply, Weiss impatiently asked, "Ruby, are you even listening?" Just then, she noticed Ruby's deep red face as what seemed to be all of her blood rushing to her head. Weiss leaned forward only to see Daniel with his head on Ruby's lap, face facing the ceiling, softly snoring. He looked so peaceful, a red hooded crow sleeping on the lap of a red hooded reaper. Even Weiss, the Ice Queen, had to giggle at the sight of the peaceful crow Faunus and the red reaper's flustered face. She poked Blake's shoulder to get her attention. When Blake turned to her, Weiss just pointed in the opposite direction, towards where Ruby sat. Blake turned around and stifled a giggle.

Weiss whispered, "You guys are so cute," as Blake took a picture of Ruby's situation. Ruby looked at both of them, her expression horrified and embarrassed at the same time.

"Guys, no!" Ruby said in a loud whispered. "Help!"

Goodwitch was heard in the background calling up the next two fighters. To Ruby's horror, Daniel started to stir, but then he faced away from Ruby's body to, once again, snore softly. Ruby relaxed and started to stroke Daniel's hair, smiling softly. Weiss and Blake giggled again, drawing Ruby's attention to the two and the screen of Blake's scroll, which was showing a picture of Ruby's awkward predicament. Her eyes widened at the picture as Blake leaned in to whispered, "So, when should Yang see this?"

Ruby's face turned her namesake's color as she sputtered out incoherent sounds. She made up her mind and moved Daniel's head away from her legs, and she propped him up so he was leaning against the back wall. Daniel, oblivious to everything around him, drowsily said, "Cold," and leaned onto Ruby's arm, head on her shoulder. "Warm," he muttered when he wrapped both of his arms around Ruby's waist as the red-faced reaper squeaked in surprise.

At this point, it took all of Blake and Weiss's willpower not to burst out laughing. Blake was taking multiple photos while Ruby tried to swat away the scroll, and Weiss was rocking back and forth in her seat, trying to maintain all the laughter inside herself.

Ruby looked around, panicked. "Guys, Yang will come back any minute, and if she sees Daniel like this, she's going to _break_ him, so please, _please_ with a cherry on top, _get him off of me_!" Ruby begged her teammates.

Weiss and Blake just smirked and waved her off, giggling as they flipped through the pictures Blake took of the two 'lovebirds'. Ruby looked even more anxious, starting to feel queasy for some reason.

"Weiss, please! Blake?! _Guys_!"

* * *

While the drama between the three girls and boy were commencing, a group of three "students" were seen in the back corner of the room.

"That guy, Daniel. He looks tough." A boy's voice was heard saying.

"Too tough," a girl said.

The third person, a female, leaned her chin in between her thumb and index finger, stroking the underside of her chin, deep in thought. "Emerald," she said. The green-haired girl looked at the older girl who spoke. Emerald grinned at her "teammate's" next words.

"Put him on the list."

 **AN: Hey guys, Fireflame here. Now, I have some good news and bad news. The bad news is that my beta, TheRetroGamer or TypicalHarshReview, has gone dark, and I can't really ask him to review or revise my stories anymore. But, here comes the good news. Ladies and gentlemen, dogs and cats, may I introduce my all new beta: Mr. Nobody or YARN?! That's right, I somehow got him to agree to try and beta a few of my stories. So expect some great chapters revised by him in the near future. If any of you want to stop reading because he's going to help me, that's fine. Just know that I wouldn't want to ever talk to you just because your judging a book based on its writers, and not by its content or cover. I mean, seriously. I hate how people think they have a right to criticize a story just because someone they don't like is writing it. If it's bad literature, I get it. But if it's just "too popular" or "the author is too overdone", then just leave. We don't want you here, trying to poison the community with stupid remarks.**

 **Now, back to my other points here. Thanks to Durandall II, he helped remind/tell me that I made a mistake when naming my characters. So, I'm changing Daniel's team's name to Defrost (DEFS) and Finnick's last name to Saffron. So shoutout to you, Durandall II. I also changed Daniel's cape to graphene since I actually did research on carbon fiber. That's about it for all the big story changes so far. Here's a few plot spoilers/non-spoilers. The story title will make sense, don't worry, and I'm also not going to go that much into the Season 3 storyline. That means there's probably not going to be Salem here. Sorry for her fans. There will be Qrow, though. He's too amazing not to invite him into a fanfic. If you feel like I'm going too OOC on a few of these characters, let me know. And as always, leave a favorite and a review if you enjoy reading my story. Thanks for being here! Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	7. Chapter 6: Feelings of Two Dunces

**Kept my promise, guys! Now enjoy the chapter made by me, edited by YARN.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, only my Original Characters.**

 **6: Feelings of Two Dunces**

Daniel woke up from a fitful nap with a large yawn. " _That's weird_ ," Daniel thought. " _Pillows aren't usually this comfy_." He shrugged slightly, " _Ah well_."

He was about to fall asleep again when he heard a throat clear, "Ahem," the voice called out from right in front of him.

Daniel slightly opened his eyes to see Yang in front of him, eyes red with a deadly stare. Daniel then realized he felt a weight on his shoulder and looked at it.

At first, he could only see a mess of dark-brown hair, so he leaned his head forward. Ruby's head was resting on Daniel's shoulder, eyes closed, lips parted slightly as she snored adorably. Daniel smiled at the sight and ruffled her hair with his arm that wasn't around her waist. Ruby smiled and sighed as she wrapped her arms around Daniel's torso. It took about two more seconds to realize the severity of the situation and his chances of survival. Daniel looked back at Yang and gulped, "Oh no."

Before Yang could rip Daniel away from her baby sister, Ruby woke up. "Achoo," she sneezed. With her eyes slowly blinking open, she took her arms off of Daniel's waist and stretched them forward. She looked around in the bleachers she was waking up in. Ruby saw her sister glowering at something and waved. "Hey, Yang," she greeted drowsily.

Ruby then felt the presence of something around her waist and on her head. She looked beside her and saw Daniel with a beet-red face, an arm around her waist and on her head. His expression clearly said, " _Please don't kill me. I can explain_."

Ruby reacted on instinct and jumped away, putting her hood up and letting out an "Eep" in surprise and embarrassment. Her face turned a bright red like her namesake. Once she was at least three feet away, she calmed down enough to think straight while her face's color refused to agree with her emotions.

Yang continued to glare at Daniel. "So," she started, "Mind telling me what happened here?" She emphasized her point by cracking her knuckles, making Daniel's previously red face quickly turn as pale as a ghost.

Daniel shrunk back, shielding his face with his arms. He quickly rushed out his explanation, "After you left, I came back up here to the bleachers and talked to your teammates. Then, I fell asleep. That's all I know." Yang pulled her fist back, and Daniel sank lower into his seat. "Please, no! Anywhere but the face!"

Ruby quickly got up and wrapped her arms around Yang's own. "Yang, no!" she exclaimed. When she got Yang to calm down enough to not immediately punch Daniel in the face, Ruby sat back down, still a foot away from Daniel. "Where's Blake and Weiss?" she wondered.

Yang turned to her sister. "Class ended a minute ago. They left while you two were busy napping." Daniel and Ruby blushed again. "They came out, giggling their butts off, which they never do, so I figured something must've happened here. Looking at this." Yang leaned forward into Daniel's personal space menacingly, "Something. Clearly. Did."

Daniel turned to Ruby, afraid for his life. "What did we- sorry, I do when I was asleep?" He asked, desperate for an answer that wouldn't get him killed by Yang's wrath.

Ruby pulled her legs to her chest and curled into a ball, poking her index fingers together in a timid fashion. Even through the hood, Yang and Daniel could tell she was blushing madly. " _Not a good sign_ ," Daniel thought.

"Well," Ruby began, "you didn't do anything that would send you to jail at least. It was just… embarrassing."

Yang's eyes widened and then quickly narrowed them to look at Daniel. Daniel scooted away from the fiery blonde, "Um, Ruby," he sputtered, "M-mind if you elaborate. Please?"

Ruby continued to poke her fingers together. "Right. Um, where was I? Oh, you told me to wake you up when class ended and fell asleep. But," Ruby's voice lowered to almost a whisper, "you kinda fell asleep on my lap."

Daniel groaned and put his head in his hands. "Can I at least have an hour to compose my tombstone epitaph?" he mumbled.

Ruby kept going, "Weiss and Blake saw it, and Blake took pictures while they both teased me. So, I tried to push Daniel off me, but that didn't work out. He leaned back over and put his head on mine and wrapped his arm around me, saying, 'Warm'."

Daniel looked up to see Ruby somehow managing to blush even more as Yang got… well, pissed. "Sorry," Daniel apologized timidly. "I can't sleep unless I'm comfortable, and I guess I'm comfortable around you." Ruby curled her arms around her legs, giggling in amusement and out of pure, undiluted embarrassment.

"That came out wrong," thought Daniel.

Yang showed a hint of a smile. "Aww," she fawned over the two red-faced teens. "You two would be so cute." Her smiled turned into a cold stare at Daniel. "If it weren't for who you were cute with."

Daniel paled as he quickly got up. "Well, it's been nice knowing you, but I have a date with either death or class. And in all honesty, the second one's a tad more preferable. I'll just see you guys later." He ran to the exit, yelling "Bye" behind him.

Yang was about to run after him, but Ruby stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head. Yang turned back to her sister. "Why don't you want me to punch the creep that just hit on you?"

Ruby glared at Yang slightly. "Yang Xiao Long, you will not hit Daniel!" She quietly yelled. "He didn't hit on me, he just accidentally did something that embarrassed both of us."

Yang sighed, but her aura of malice still stood. "Fine," she breathed. "I guess he can live another day."

The two got up and walked to their next class. When they got there in their Beacon attire (Ruby still kept her cloak), they found Blake and Weiss still giggling as they scrolled through Blake's scroll. Yang whistled, "Wow, haven't heard you guys laugh this hard since... well, ever." Yang sat next to them. "Whatcha got there?"

Blake's eyes widened at Yang's voice. "Umm," she stuttered as she looked at Ruby. If her look was asking for permission or out of fear, Ruby wasn't sure.

Ruby sighed as she plopped down in her seat next to Weiss. "She already knows."

Blake regained her composure as she showed the pictures to Yang, expecting to see some hatred. What she didn't expect was for Yang's expression to brighten as she let out a long "Aww".

Ruby leaned back to look at Yang's smirk. "How can you go from wanting to murder Daniel to 'Look how cute these two are' in a minute?" She asked with a bewildered face.

Yang looked at Ruby deviously, "Because now," she held up the picture to Ruby, "I have more blackmail," she ended in a singsong voice.

Weiss and Blake looked at Yang, confused. "Wait, more?" Weiss asked. "This already happened?"

Yang laughed. "Oh man, I forgot to show you guys their first interaction." Yang pulled her own scroll out to show the pictures she took of Ruby and Daniel under the tree.

Ruby banged her head on the desk as Weiss, Blake, and Yang fawned over the cute 'couple'. "Please," Ruby begged. "End this. Please, end it now." She groaned as Blake continued to nudge her with her elbow teasingly.

When lunch came around, Team RWBY found themselves longing for a decent meal. As they walked into the cafeteria, they saw Daniel, in his uniform and hood, already sitting with Team JNPR. They got their lunches and sat in the same spots as last time. This time, though, Ruby and Daniel made at least a foot of space in between themselves.

Weiss was the first to jump at the opportunity. "So, Daniel," she started with a smirk. "How was your nap?" Blake held back a snicker as Yang glared at Daniel.

Daniel looked at Weiss and then at Blake. He said, "I hate you," to the two and continued to eat his meal.

Team JNPR looked at the situation, completely baffled. "Did we miss something?" Jaune asked.

Weiss looked at them for a second before snapping her fingers. "Ah, you weren't there, weren't you?" Jaune shook his head. Her face contorted into a huge, shit eating grin. "Blake. The photos?"

Blake continued to snicker into her hand. "Gladly," she said in between laughs as she pulled out her scroll.

Ruby glared at the two. "Weiss, Blake, if you show the photos, I will make Zwei sleep with Blake for the rest of the week." She threatened.

Weiss gasped as Blake's face whitened. "You wouldn't," Weiss said, shocked.

Ruby stood up and leaned forward on her hands. "Try me." She said menacingly.

Daniel looked at Yang, slightly afraid. "Who's Zwei?" He asked. "Should I be worried your sister's making her friend sleep with someone?"

Yang laughed. "Zwei's our dog."

Daniel's expression lightened. "Ah," he said.

Weiss steeled herself. "It's a risk I'm willing to take," she said in a strained voice, but the corners of her mouth twitched in amusement. Blake nodded and started to find the pictures.

Ruby pounded her fist on the table. "Traitor!" She exclaimed. "This is mutiny!"

At this point, a few of the other tables were looking at the two teams and the loner in wonder and confusion. Most of them shrugged it off since it was Team RWBY and JNPR. They've done worse.

Daniel cupped his hand over his mouth like he was thinking. "Ruby, stop. Others are staring. Besides, you can't really pull it off."

Ruby turned to glare at Daniel. "Pull what off?" She questioned.

The corners of Daniel's mouth curled into a smile. "You can't really do the whole 'menacing glare' thing. It's too adorable. It's like a bunny throwing down a carrot in disgust."

Ruby's face slowly started to heat up. Abruptly, she sat back down and pulled her hood over her head in comfort, blushing madly. Daniel groaned yet again and slammed his head into the table's wooden surface. "I just said that, didn't I?"

Pyrrha giggled. "It appears you did," she said as she held Weiss's scroll. The entirety of Team JNPR saw the photos Weiss took, and they were having a blast. Nora was slowly choking on her pancakes and laughter. Pyrrha covered her mouth with a hand, trying to contain her giggles. Jaune put his face in his palm, chuckling at the two red-hooded warriors. Even Ren had a smile on his normally neutral face, shaking his head and slightly laughing.

Ruby and Daniel groaned together. They had the exact same body language. Hoods up, head resting on their crossed arms, and everything else pointed to the fact that the two did not ever want to discuss this ever again.

The entire table laughed at the two, even Ruby and Daniel albeit embarrassingly. "Look at them," Blake said through laughs. "They're like two peas in a pod." The two lifted their heads and looked at each other in sync. Then, they both blushed and slammed their heads into the backs of their arms again. Team JNPR and the remaining members of Team RWBY were having a field day with the two socially awkward teens.

Daniel felt his hood being ripped away from his body. He looked up and behind him to see Cardin Winchester, holding his hood like it was a dirty rag. "Give it back," Daniel growled.

Cardin scoffed. "Why? You want to keep hiding those wings?" Team JNPR looked at Daniel's new limbs in shock. "Can't blame you," Cardin continued, "I would hide the fact that I was an animal as well." Cardin's teammates flanked him as they all stood, trying to intimidate the Faunus.

Daniel snorted. "Knock it off. If Finnick was here, he'd be pissing himself, laughing." Daniel held up his hands, shaking them like he was scared. "Oh no! Whatever will I do? It's a four versus nine!" He turned back to his friends. "We're screwed, guys! They're huntsman in training!" His table started bursting out in laughter.

Cardin reeled back, not expecting that response. He quickly regained his composure. "Yeah, Finnick's not here right? Didn't your team get killed? You know why? Because your friends were weak."

Low blow. Daniel froze as the blood in him chilled. Team RWBY got up and glared at Cardin, murder clear in their eyes. Daniel held his hand up. "Hold on, guys," he said in a surprisingly calm voice. He looked up at them with a fire in his eyes. "I got this." The way he said it, with no emotion whatsoever, was more menacing than if he put in an evil cackle.

Daniel turned around as Cardin showed fear in his eyes but quickly suppressed it. "Yeah, freak? What are you gonna do? Run away like you did from your friends? That's how you survived, right? Let your friends die so you could live?"

Daniel ignored the jabs and grinned evilly. He put a hand on Cardin's shoulder like they were pals. Cardin tried to pry it off, but Daniel had a grip of steel. "Say, this is a family set of armor, right?"

Cardin looked at Daniel smugly. "That's right. An unbreakable sheet of steel right here." He banged his fist against his chest plate. "Shame you don't have anything to show for."

Daniel's grin widened. "You remember my Semblance, don't you?" Cardin's eyes grew in shock as he tried to wrench his shoulder away from the vice-like grip. Daniel put a finger to Cardin's forehead, and he froze. "Now, let's see." The hand on Cardin's head glowed in a dark black aura. "Do I take your cells and put them on your armor, or do I melt your armor down into your skull?"

Cardin panicked. "Let go of me, freak," he shouted as he tried to tear Daniel's arm off of his shoulder.

Daniel made a "tut" in disapproval. "But I'm trying to show you that I'm not a coward, and that's a coward's move." The metal slowly melted from Cardin's armor and made a thin layer on his forehead.

Daniel suddenly felt a body impact him from behind and arms wrap around his neck. Thinking the person was tackling him, he tried to swing his body around, only to realize it was Ruby straddling his back. "Stop, Daniel" she pleaded, "This isn't you. What would your team think?"

Daniel froze before letting his grip go from Cardin's shoulder. Cardin backed up quickly and made a break for it, his teammates rushing to follow their leader. Daniel looked around to see all of the cafeteria looking at the frightening situation. Most were horrified of what Daniel almost did, some had looks of disgust, and a few had looks of approval. Daniel waved meekly at them, chuckling weakly. Most students turned to their friends, no doubt spreading rumors seconds after a fight.

Daniel sat back down in his seat, glumly looking down at the wood. "Ruby," he said. Ruby leaned her head to the side to look at Daniel's face. He had a smirk on. "You can get off now."

Ruby realized she was still on his back, and hopped off, red-faced but still worried. "What was that all about," Jaune questioned. Team JNPR looked at their friend, slightly scared.

Yang answered for Daniel. "Bad story. Long story short, Daniel's teammates died in the Breach, and Cardin really struck home with those comments."

Team JNPR nodded and all wore a look of disgust. "What a cruel human being," Pyrrha stated. "How could Cardin pull such a low punch just to discriminate a Faunus?"

Weiss crossed her arms and scowled. "He should not be considered human, that atrocious, vile sack of-."

Daniel covered Ruby's ears, who was holding a cookie in between her mouth and hand. "Language," Daniel scolded playfully. "There's kids here."

As he took off his hands off of Ruby's head, Yang smirked a giant shit eating grin. "Oh, Daniel," she said mischievously. "I didn't know you were into that kind of thing." Team JNPR, Weiss, and Blake snickered.

Daniel started to lift his glass of water to his mouth. "Into wha-?" He set his glass down with a thud. "You've gotta be kidding me," Daniel said with a sigh. He slammed his forehead into the table yet again. "I'm not into her! Not like that at least." He shouted through the wood.

Ruby looked confused. "Wait, what?" She asked, her eyebrows scrunched together. Blake leaned forward, over the table, and whispered into Ruby's ear, explaining it so it wasn't too mature. Ruby's face heated up. She stood and slapped Yang across the face, but she was still too busy laughing to care. Just like that, the mood had been restored, and the dark was put behind them.

Lunch ended soon after that, and the nine separated to go to their next classes. The rest of the day was uneventful. Unless you count the endless teasing Daniel and Ruby had to endure, the glares and smirks Yang sent at Daniel, mixing his emotions and thoughts, and Ruby dominating yet again during the Weapon Mechanics class.

After classes were over, Blake left to the library. She went to find a quiet place, away from her teammates, to study and read. As she was picking a few materials off the shelves, a finger tapped on her shoulder. She turned around to find Daniel sheepishly waving at her. "Hello, Daniel," she politely greeted. "What do you need?"

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. "I was wondering if you could tell me something Ruby would like to do. You know, like leisure activities outside of school?"

Blake donned an impish smirk. "Oh," she exclaimed playfully. "So you want to take Ruby on a date now?"

Daniel shook his head furiously. "No!" He denied quickly. "I wanted to repay her. She helped me get over my team, so I want to give her something back.

Blake continued to have a Cheshire grin, but she still nodded in understanding. She collected the books she needed in her arms and walked towards the librarian's desk. "Well, Ruby doesn't really have a social life, but she does have a few interests. She likes anything sweet, she enjoys killing Grimm a little too much."

Daniel waved his hand in a "keep going" motion. Blake sighed. " _He's dedicated, I'll give him that_." Blake thought for a few moments as the librarian checked out her books. When she turned around with her materials in hand, Blake left the library, Daniel trailing closely behind her. "Ruby enjoys music," Blake continued, "and she is a genius when it comes to anything mechanical." Blake turned around to look at Daniel. "Any ideas, lover boy?"

Daniel nodded. "One: don't call me that. Two: yeah, I got an idea. Thanks!" He turned to go find Ruby, but then he froze. Daniel turned back to Blake, chuckling meekly. "Do you know where I can find Ruby," he asked Blake.

Blake sighed. "Might as well lead you back to our dorm." She continued walking away. "Come on, you guys need to get prepared for your date." You could almost feel the smugness radiating off of her.

Daniel ran after her. "Not a date," he mumbled to himself.

Blake's bow twitched in amusement. "Sure," she drawled, "tell that to Yang."

Daniel caught up with her. "Shoot, Yang. On a scale from one to ten, what are my chances of survival?"

Blake tilted her head back in thought. "Honestly," she replied. "I'm not quite sure. She's an enigma even to me about this subject, and that's saying something."

Daniel groaned. "I was hoping that, since you're teammates, you would know about Yang's attitude about Ruby going out with someone."

Blake's smirk returned. "So you admit it's a date?"

Daniel facepalmed himself. "I can't win this conversation, can I?"

"Nope, afraid not."

Daniel threw his arms up into the air. "Yang's rubbed off on you a bit too much."

Blake let out her first hearty laugh in quite some time. The two eventually found themselves in front of Team RWBY's dorm. Blake scanned her scroll, knocked on the door, and let herself in. Daniel was about to follow, but Blake held him back with one arm, the other carrying the stack of books. "One of the girls might be changing," Blake reasoned.

Daniel's skin paled. "I'll just… wait out here," he said, shuffling his feet.

Blake closed the door as she turned around to face her team's room. Yang was sitting on her bunk, reading a magazine, Ruby laid on her bed, notes spread everywhere on her mattress. "Where's Weiss," Blake asked as she unloaded her stack onto the desk next to her bed.

Yang flipped a page. "She's in the bathroom. Who were you talking to outside the door? Sun?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "No, and stop trying to set us up." Yang shrugged and continued reading. Blake turned to Ruby who was still writing furiously on her essay. "Ruby," Blake called, "Someone's outside, and he wants to see you."

Ruby looked up from her notes, confusion written all over her face. "Really," she questioned. Blake nodded, and Ruby got up and left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Yang turned to Blake with a dead serious expression. "Who's out there?"

When Ruby closed the door, she saw Daniel leaning against the wall next to Team JNPR's room. "Hey, Ruby," he greeted.

"Daniel?" Ruby said, confused. "What are you doing here?"

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. "Well," he started, "you know how you helped me get over my team?" Ruby nodded. Daniel continued, "I wanted to repay you back."

Ruby blushed. "Thanks, Daniel. But there's no need; I like helping people."

Daniel smiled. "Well think of this as helping me by doing something you're good at." Ruby tilted her in wonder. "Goodwitch says I need a weapon since I can't rely on my Semblance, so, I was wondering, would you like to help me build my weapon?"

Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet, squealing. "Of course! Come on, let's build your weapon." She said enthusiastically.

She tried to drag him away, but Daniel kept his feet planted, laughing. "Ruby," he called. "You probably want to change out of your school uniform."

Ruby turned around, chuckling nervously. "Oh," was her only response.

Daniel started walking away to his own room. "I'll knock on your door in ten minutes," he called to her, "If I haven't, just come out of your room. I'll catch you later."

Ruby waved at him. "See you in ten," she called out, and then Ruby rushed into her room.

Yang and Blake watched as Ruby came back into their room as she almost ran to the closet. "So," Yang said. "Whatcha doing, sis? You going out?"

Ruby rummaged through her clothes. "Oh 'ya know," she responded offhandedly. "I'm going out with Daniel in a couple of minutes."

Yang jumped off of her bed and wrapped her sister in a bear-hug. As Ruby struggled, Yang said, "Oh, you're going out with Daniel? Yay, you two are so cute together!"

"Yang. Gah. Air, please." Ruby gagged.

Yang froze and let go of Ruby. "Wait, you're going out?" Her hair started lighting aflame. "That son of a… She's too young, damnit!"

Ruby held her sister back from the door. "Yang, I said that wrong! I'm just helping him build a weapon, that's all!"

Yang calmed down and looked at her sister. "Why are you finding clothes, then?"

Ruby gestured to her current attire. "Are you kidding? I won't get this dirty, thank you very much!"

Ruby continued to dig through her clothes as Weiss walked back into the room. She looked at Ruby, then Yang (who was now in her own bed), then at Blake, and finally back at Ruby. "What are you searching for, Ruby?" Weiss asked.

Blake let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "She's going out on a date with Daniel."

Weiss looked shocked as Ruby's face turned a crimson red. "It's not a date," she yelled, her voice muffled by the closet's confined space.

Weiss laughed. "I'm sure it isn't Ruby. So, tell me." Weiss hopped onto her bed, crossing her legs. "Where is the lucky guy taking you, hmm Ruby?"

Ruby left the closet with her new outfit as she started to change. "We're making his new weapon."

Weiss blinked a few times. "He did his research on you." Weiss clapped her hands together. "It's official: it's a date."

Ruby groaned. "Yang, stop rubbing off on them." She complained.

Yang was on her bed with a small, smug smile. "Hey," she countered, "it's not my fault I'm just this awesome. Who wouldn't want to be me?"

The other occupants of the room raised their hands. "I." They all said at the same time.

 **Hey guys, fireflame here. Now, I present to you, the last chapter for this July. This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I decided to trim it down by about 6000 words. Sue me. Anyways, this chapter and the following few chapters are all supposed to be more lighthearted and focus on Ruby and Daniel. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to hate me later. In the meantime, hope you had a good time reading this! Favorite if you want to, follow if you want your updates, and review if you have any complaints, suggestions, and or anything else. Now let's give a big round of applause to my Beta, Mr. Nobody or YARN. If you're reading any other RWBY fanfics, go check out his stuff. It's pretty good.**

 **Alright, a few shoutouts I have to do now. Thank you TopazStarV and Mylax for the suggestions for Blake's past, you both get a virtual cookie. Mylax, that's sorta the thing I wanted to avoid. I wanted to make up as little as possible that was still canon before this events, but thanks for the suggestion. I don't really like saying things that are later proven to be false.**

 **(: :) (: :)**

 **For now, that's all. Talk to you guys later! Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	8. Chapter 7: Non-date

**Disclaimer** : I have no ownership over RWBY, and the story is for fun, not profit. Only my OCs are my ideas.

Chapter 7: Non-Date (sureeeee)

Ten minutes after Daniel's invitation was given, Ruby was waiting on her bed, dressed in an outfit she didn't mind getting dirty. She anxiously glanced at the clock. "He should be here by now," Ruby thought. Another minute passed. Ruby sighed. "I guess I'll go check."

She left her room and saw why Daniel didn't knock. Daniel was facing the door on the opposite side of the hall, scratching his head in confusion. Ruby giggled behind him. Startled, Daniel turned around quickly. He saw Ruby and the open door and put two and two together. Daniel groaned and leaned against the wall next to Team JNPR's door, defeated in life. Ruby let out a genuine laugh which made Daniel smile slightly. Daniel pointed to the other door with his thumb. "Wrong door," he explained lamely.

Ruby had a good look at Daniel's newest attire. He still wore his hood, but the rest of his outfit was different. He wore a regular, black tank top, his utility belt, a pair of blood-red pants, and a pair of bright red shoes. "You look casual enough," Ruby stated. "What's your obsession with the hood," she pointed at the fabric seemingly permanently strapped to his back.

Daniel smirked as he countered, "What's with your obsession with your red cloak?" Daniel looked over Ruby's clothes of choice. She replaced her combat skirt with a cherry-red shirt with a large, black paw-print in the center with a rose emblem inside the print itself. Her regular, black pants were exchanged with a pair of black cargo shorts that reached just above her knees. They had dozens of pockets on each side of the leg. And, as always, she wore her signature red cape.

Ruby let out a small huff. "Touché, Danny," she replied. "So." Ruby skipped toward him. "Where are we going first?"

Daniel's smiled widened. "We're going to the forges. Shall we, milady?" He held out his hand in a gentleman's fashion.

Ruby giggled and placed her hand in his. "We shall. Let's," she said in an aristocratic accent. Blood rushed to her face as Daniel took her hand and placed a small kiss on the back of her hand. Daniel then held out his elbow, and Ruby curled her arms around it. They walked down the halls like a couple, setting off to forge a weapon.

As they walked to the forge, Blake and Weiss poked their heads out of the doorway, giggling at the cute banter. A door creaked, and they noticed Jaune and Pyrrha were in a similar position as the other two. The four made eye contact and grinned. "Twenty Lien says Daniel and Ruby kiss," Pyrrha bet.

Weiss huffed but still had a silly grin on her face. "Twenty Lien says Daniel won't."

Yang came to the doorway, not as happy as the others that her sister was going on a date with someone Yang didn't know that well, and that her friends were betting on their relationship. "I'm gonna tail the two. Who's with me?"

Pyrrha and Weiss pulled out their scrolls to check the time. In sync, the two shrugged. "I would gladly go," Pyrrha announced.

"I suppose I've studied Grimm Anatomy enough for one day," Weiss said.

Jaune gave a thumbs up, and Blake gave a small, curt nod. The five set off sneakily to stalk, (sorry, observe,) the two socially awkward teenagers.

Daniel and Ruby arrived at Vale's most famous forge, Anvil and Hammer. A middle-aged employee greeted them at the front of the store. "Welcome to Anvil and Hammer." he bellowed, "I'm Leo. What do you two need?"

Daniel answered, "Hi, I'm here to make my first official weapon. Do you guys have any plates of Iridium and Titanium around here?"

The employee whistled. "Wow, kid." he exclaimed, "I'm impressed, you've done your research. That's gonna cost you a ton of money, though."

Daniel waved him off. "It'll be fine. I need a reason to spend money, anyways."

The man nodded. "Alright, I'll give you a few sheets to work with. I'll rack up the bill after you're done with them." He proceeded to the back of the shop, searching through the storage to find the exact metals Daniel asked for.

Ruby thought of something. "Daniel," she started. Daniel turned to look at the girl still attached to his arm and smiled. "If you can just make stuff with your Semblance, why am I here?" She looked down, shuffling her feet awkwardly.

Daniel laughed as he softly ruffled her hair. "I'm really bad at mechanics and wiring, so that's where you come in. Also," Daniel held Ruby's chin with the thumb and index finger on his other hand. He tilted Ruby's head up so they were inches away from each other's faces. "I can't do anything with Dust, and it's the most important part to half of the project." He nuzzled the top of Ruby's head. "You're the one I trust the most with this sort of thing."

Ruby's face lit up like a firework. Before she could start sputtering, a pile of metal clanking and grunts took their attention to the doorway to the storage. The man was seen struggling to hold up a few large plates of the metals Daniel asked for. Daniel untangled himself from Ruby to take the load from the employee. The man panted, leaning his hands on his thighs. "Thanks," he said. "Ring me up once you're done with your project." The man made his way over to a chair and slumped over in exhaustion.

Daniel went to set his materials down on one of the workshop's tables. With a loud thud and a few clinks of metal against metal, the metals rested on the table as he sat down next to it. Ruby made her way next to him and plopped into the chair next to him. "So, what are you building?" She asked.

Daniel started rambling. "Well, I was thinking of building a sword made of an Iridium-Titanium alloy for stability, tenacity, but still decently lightweight. I wanted to break up most of the blade into six-inch segments and connect them with a very sturdy fabric to make it half whip, half sword. The blade itself should be three feet long, and the hilt would be another seven inches. The crossguard needs to be two inches in diameter and made of the same alloy, and the hilt needs a leather bound around it. I also want to build a blunt-edge sheath for the sword to function as both a holster and a weapon itself. It needs to have a Dust chamber in it, so the sheath can also imbue the sword with different elements. Oh, and I was thinking of making it a shotgun and a sniper as well."

Ruby looked at Daniel with a deadpanned expression. "I am definitely one of the biggest weapon geeks at Beacon, and even I had a hard time catching that."

Daniel facepalmed. "Sorry, I do that a lot." He pulled a crumpled up blueprint from his back pocket and flattened it out. "Here," he said, "This should help a lot."

Ruby looked over the schematics, her eyes widening every second, taking in every detail. "This… Is…"

Daniel looked at her, worried. "Overkill? Dumb? Excessive?"

Ruby turned to look at him with a look of shock. "Amazing," she responded.

Daniel blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "I went overboard with the entire 'design your own weapon' thing. I started this the first time Goodwitch told me to get a weapon."

Ruby's eyes widened even farther. "You came up with this piece of art in a day?!" she asked, impressed.

"Try three years." Daniel chuckled, "I perfected my own weapon's design, but I never saw a use for it since I use basically anything I have thanks to my Semblance."

Ruby nodded in understanding. "Wait," she began, "You said you were using Dust. Where is it?"

Daniel snapped his fingers. "Shoot, I forgot. Be right back." He rushed out the door into the Dust store next door.

Ruby sighed. "Well," she said to herself, "Guess I'm waiting."

As soon as the sentence left her mouth, the door jumped open, and Daniel walked in with a large box of Dust. Ruby looked up in surprise. "That was fast," she stated the obvious.

Daniel laughed as he started to pull a few jars of Dust out of the case. "So," he said, bending down for another grab. "Here's the dust for the bullets and the chambers. And here." He pulled out a small bag full of bullet casings. "Here's the shell casings."

Ruby looked at the bag, then at the box of Dust, and then at Daniel incredulously. "There're at least three times the Dust you need for your rounds." she commented, "What are you doing? Making the Dust chambers last for a day at constant use?"

Daniel looked up in surprise. "Oh," he exclaimed, "I forgot the other prototype." He reached into one of his belts pockets and pulled out another diagram, this one significantly smaller than the last, but with the same amount of detail.

Ruby looked over his shoulder to see a simple drawing of a bullet, surrounded by hundreds of notes. "It's a bullet." she lamely pointed out.

Daniel smirked. His only reply was, "Look closely."

Ruby read a few of the notes, and her mouth dropped open in awe. "This can't be what I think it is, can it?"

Daniel spread his arms out in a grand gesture. "It is. Here is one of the first models of a pure Dust bullet."

Ruby latched onto Daniel's arm, looking at him with sparkling, silver eyes. "No way," she said breathlessly.

Daniel nodded. "Yes, way," he said, patting her hair. "And you're the first one to make them."

Ruby squealed in delight and hugged his arm even tighter. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she repeated to him, obviously excited.

Daniel smiled at her reaction and pried her off his arm. "Well," he said. He cracked his knuckles in preparation. "Let's get started."

The five students tailing Ruby and Daniel entered the shop an hour later since they got on a later flight to the city. Yang quickly ducked behind the front desk, and the others followed. The employee leaned over the desk, clearly bewildered. "Welcome to Anvil and-." He tried to start.

Yang quickly shushed him. "Shh, we're trying to spy on my sister." Pyrrha, Jaune, and Weiss nodded in agreement.

The employee turned his head to the two diligently working on Daniel's projects. "Yeah, I can see why. So, are you spying on their date? Seems like something my friends and I would've done at your age."

Weiss nodded as Yang shook her head, furious. "It's not a date," she hissed at the man.

The man backed away slowly from the desk. "Alright, sheesh." He reasoned. "I was just asking."

Yang nodded, her eyes still filled with fire. "That's what I thought."

Leo turned back to the others in Yang's group. "Fiesty one, this one is," he commented. Yang narrowed her eyes which, thankfully, went unnoticed by Leo. The man went back to sorting through the store's inventory as the gang of five subtly made their way closer to Daniel and Ruby, ducking behind cover whenever they could. Daniel held up his almost complete blade, testing its balance, while Ruby was tinkering with the Dust she was given. She was looking through a desk-mounted magnifying glass with tools in both her hands, her tongue sticking out in concentration. Daniel set the blade down, only to catch a glimpse of a blonde mane from the corner of his eye. Daniel's eyes widened, then he smiled softly, knowing Yang was trying to protect his sister. He decided to ignore it for now and went to work building the sheath.

Jaune ducked down behind Pyrrha and his anvil. "So," he asked. "Do you think they kissed yet?"

Pyrrha stifled a giggle. "Hard to say," she whispered back," but I'm sure they haven't. Both would already be blushing, and they've also been focused on creating that thing."

Jaune side as he leaned against the hard, metal surface of the anvil. "Why'd you make the bet with Weiss?" He asked, "I don't think you acted that way."

Pyrrha sat next to Jaune, resting her back against the anvil. "It's Mistral tradition," she explained. She looked over to where Blake, Weiss, and Yang were hiding: behind a furnace. "Teenagers and young adults bet on their friends when they notice the suspected couple's interests in each other. We bet on different things like first kisses, how dates would plan out, and when the two will go out. No one bets on break ups, so it's just harmless fun."

Jaune nodded in understanding. "You've done this before?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "This is my first time, but I can see the appeal in wagering on your friends."

Jaune peaked over their hiding place to look at the ones Pyrrha and Weiss bet on. His mouth dropped open in shock as Daniel put down what looked to be another completed piece of equipment. "How does he do that?" Jaune hissed, "I can barely scrape by with a drawing in Professor Dooley's class."

Pyrrha peered (AN: Peer-ha. Get it? No? I'll just sit in this corner) over the anvil, eyes wide with amazement. "I don't' know," she said. "But there is a reason he almost beat me in school rankings years back."

Daniel stretched his arms over his head, arching his back as it let out a few audible cracks. Daniel winced at the noise and turned to face Ruby. Half a dozen tools were sticking out from the multiple pockets on her pants, and her back was hunched over the table in an unhealthy way. Daniel grinned playfully as he wrapped his arms around Ruby's torso. Ruby let out a small yelp as Daniel lifted Ruby from her stool and spun her around. When he set Ruby back on her feet, Ruby had a large smile on her face, donning a red hue. She turned around, still in his arms, and faced him. Ruby wrapped her arms around Daniel's neck. "What was that all about?" She said bashfully.

Daniel smirked back. "You looked too serious. Also, we missed dinner at Beacon."

Ruby scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. Suddenly, her stomach let out a loud rubble. Ruby backed up away from Daniel, and she covered her face with her hands, embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she squeaked, "I was too caught up."

Daniel let out a small laugh and ruffled Ruby's already messy hair. "It's fine," he calmed her. He turned to the employee at the desk. "Is there anywhere here I can store my items for now?" he shouted.

The man looked up from his computer. "Sure, kid," he shouted back, "Just bring them up here, and I'll put it in our storage under your name."

Daniel nodded. "Sound's good." He strapped the sheathed sword to his belt and carried the box of Dust under his arm. Daniel turned back to Ruby. "Come on, I know a decent place my team sometimes ate at."

Ruby nodded, taking her hands off of her head. She grabbed the Dust outside of the box, the remaining casings, and the finished bullets and put them into the small bag. Daniel held out her hand for Ruby to take, and she entwined their fingers together, a small blush appearing on both of their faces. They walked past the five onlookers, all nudging each other, gushing over the cuteness of the two. Daniel and Ruby walked over to the desk and set their creations on it.

The man let out a low whistle. "That's mightily impressive what you two can do in an hour and a half." He started typing in numbers into the computer. "So," he said, concentrating on the monitor. "Adding up the materials, tools used, and storage usage," he turned the screen around, "this is your total."

Daniel looked at the screen. A few seconds later, his jaw dropped in shock. "That's a lot of numbers." He then looked at what the man used. "I already bought the Dust," Daniel pointed out, "the bullet casings are mine, and I didn't use your furnaces."

The man reeled back at the last one. "Semblance?" he asked.

Daniel nodded. "Semblance."

The man cleared his throat and turned the monitor back around. He started taking off a few things from the total and then turned it back to face the two teens. "There. That should be better."

Daniel sighed in relief; the grand total dropped down from a thousand Lien to a couple hundred. "That's a nicer sight." He took out his wallet and pulled out a wad of cash. "That should do it."

The man took it and sorted through the bills. "That's exact change," he stated. He looked up at Daniel. "Whose name should I put it under?"

"Gotzon."

The employee typed a few more things into the computer. "Alright, you guys are all set." He smiled and wave at the two. "Have a nice day!"

Ruby and Daniel waved back as they left. "You too," they called back.

As soon as the door shut behind them, the man turned to the hiders. "You can come out now."

Their heads popped out from behind pieces of equipment like gophers. Jaune suddenly sprang up, a finger pointed to the sky. "Onwards!" He yelled, "They're getting away!"

Ruby found herself in an unfamiliar restaurant. The inside looked like an old-fashioned diner from before when machines took over the food industry. The sparkling, red seats were put in rows of booths along the side wall, and a large wall-to-wall bar was put up on the other side of the building. The smell of meat frying and fresh vegetables being chopped up wafted through a small window behind the bar, connecting to the kitchen. (AN: If anyone's confused, just imagine and/or search up a classic, American diner from 1980's.)

Ruby let out a soft gasp. "Wow," she said in awe, "I didn't know you had a thing for the older days."

Daniel smiled. "Well, I didn't know about this place 'till my friends took me here the first day of Beacon." He led Ruby to a booth near the back of the restaurant. He sat in the seat facing the doorway, and Ruby sat across from him. A few seconds after sitting, Daniel saw the door swing open, letting out a chime from the bell above it, and five crouching figures snuck their way over to a seat three booths away from them.

Daniel chuckled, but Ruby looked at him in confusion, unaware that her sister was spying on their day out. Daniel waved her off. "Sorry, I saw a really cool dog walking by." he lied.

Ruby nodded in understanding. The door opened again with a small jingle, and Ruby turned to the entrance with Daniel. Coco and Velvet strolled in, looking around for a spot to sit in. Coco and Velvet switched their usual outfits with clothes that looked and most likely felt more comfortable. Velvet wore a nice, bright red sweater with a head of a rabbit on the front. The rest of her outfit consisted of her still-in-construction weapon, hanging from her waist, a pair of midnight-black pants, and a pair of deep-red converse sneakers.

Coco wore something more stylish, but still more casual than her regular attire. She had on her signature beret and scarf, but she replaced her striped, tawny brown, ruffled shirt with a cinnamon-brown t-shirt that was a bit too revealing. Her black pants were the same, and Coco wore a pair of sneakers like Velvet's, but these were black instead of red.

Coco and Velvet immediately noticed Yang's bright yellow hair and went over to the group's table. "Hey guys," she greeted. "I didn't know you went here."

Pyrrha put a finger against her lips. "Shh, we are currently spectating Ruby and Daniel's date." She whispered, pointing her finger to the couple.

Coco's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she looked over to where Pyrrha's finger was pointing to. "Well would 'ya look at that," she yelped in surprise. "Daniel's got himself a girl."

Coco's words were heard by Daniel and Ruby, which both blushed a crimson red. "It's not a date," Daniel mumbled.

Yang shook her angrily. "Not a date," she denied.

Coco's mouth formed a large smirk. "Come on, Velvet," she called. "We have a new mission: infiltrate Daniel's date."

The corner of Velvet's mouths twitched in amusement. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

Coco dragged Velvet to the end of the restaurant by her arm. Daniel motioned to Ruby to scoot to the inside of the booth, sighing in anticipation of a horribly long teasing. Coco sat next to Daniel, and Velvet sat next to Ruby, scratching behind her rabbit ears in discomfort. "So, Daniel," Coco purred, "mind telling me why you didn't let me know you were going on a date?"

Ruby turned an even more brilliant shade of red, covering her head with her hood, and Daniel groaned as he slammed his head on the table. "For the umpteenth time," he grumbled, "it's not a date!"

Velvet giggled. "Keep telling yourselves that," she said in a singsong voice.

Ruby sunk into her seat. "Velvet," she moaned, "not you, too."

Thankfully for the two being teased, their savior came in the form of a blonde haired, grey-eyed waitress. "Hello," she started. "Welcome, to-." The waiter then noticed the two students in Team CFVY. "Hey, Coco and Velvet. How's it hanging?"

Coco nodded at her as Velvet waved politely. "Hi, Mrs. Jackson." They greeted.

The blonde waitress laughed. "Guys, haven't I told you to drop the formalities? Call me Annabeth. Mrs. Jackson makes me sound like an old lady." Annabeth turned to the Daniel and Ruby. "And who might you two lovebirds be?" Apparently, their luck would never last.

Ruby turned to Annabeth with a small smile, hood still on. "Hi," she said in a timid voice, "my name's Ruby."

Daniel nodded at Annabeth. "I'm Daniel. By the way, we aren't dating."

Annabeth laughed. "Not yet," she said smugly, "you two remind me of myself in the early days: too caught up in adventures to notice someone likes you."

Ruby moved her cloak in between her and her company like a curtain, too embarrassed to be looked at. Daniel just groaned and facepalmed. "It's getting too old," he sighed.

The other three snickered at Ruby and Daniel's discomfort. "So, Coco," Annabeth continued, "the usual?"

Coco nodded. "You know it."

Annabeth turned to Velvet. "I'll have what Coco's having." the rabbit faunus replied.

Daniel looked over his menu. "I'll take a burger without pickles, some fries, and a strawberry milkshake."

Annabeth laughed. "So the same as Coco and Velvet, huh?"

Daniel let out a puff of air in amusement. "Is that combo really that popular?"

"Sure is," Annabeth replied. She turned to her final customer. "And what can I get you, Little Red?"

Ruby finally took down her hood, finally opening up to the waitress. "I'll have the same," she answered.

Annabeth smirked. "I figured as much." She turned to take their orders to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, at Yang's table, the five teens were all looking at menus since they too had missed dinner. "So," Yang started. The others looked up from their menus. "Daniel never told us about taking Ruby to dinner. Any thoughts?"

Jaune chuckled lightly. He leaned back in his seat, hands behind his head. "There's not much else." he answered, "Daniel has a crush on Ruby."

Yang sighed, "I figured as much. Sorry for dragging you guys into this. I just want to see my sister happy."

Blake put a hand on her partner's shoulder, understanding the unwillingness to leave Ruby alone. "It's fine, Yang," she assured, "I understand why you want to protect Ruby; she's your little, baby sister. But, you have to realize she's a teenager herself, and she can make her own decisions."

"Plus," Jaune chimed in, "we don't mind tagging along. We all wanted to see how this plays out."

Yang glared at Jaune. "Not helping," she commented.

Jaune's face paled. "Ok, I'll just be here. Reading the menu. Not saying anything anymore." He hunched over, hiding his face with his menu.

Back at Daniel's table, Velvet and Coco were relentless in their efforts to tease Daniel and Ruby. Coco did most of the teasing. "Now Ruby, tell me." Coco leaned on the table with her elbows. "How did Daniel win over your heart, hmm?"

Ruby leaned back and waved her hands in front of her face frantically. "It's not like that!" Ruby quickly denied, "He didn't and hasn't won over my heart!"

You could feel, even taste, the smugness radiating off of Coco. "Oh, so he hasn't won it over yet, huh?" She turned to Daniel, "you're going to have to try harder there, loverboy."

At this point, Daniel was getting more annoyed than flustered at the constant jokes. "Knock it off, Coco. She probably means that I haven't tried yet since this isn't a date."

Velvet smirked. "When did she say it was a date?" she asked tauntingly.

Daniel was caught off guard. "I, uh, let's see…" he stammered.

Velvet giggled into her sleeves while Coco was howling with laughter. "Man," Coco gasped, wiping away tears. "This is too easy."

Daniel cupped his head with his hands, muffling his shrieks of annoyance. Ruby was anxiously twiddling her thumbs. "Please, let this meal just end," she thought. "I want to go back to my room with Dan- all by myself." She shook her head, trying to clear her dirtier thoughts out.

Annabeth came out of the kitchen, arms loaded with plates of food. "Four burgers and fries are ready."

Coco lifted a finger. "Just set them down."

Annabeth nodded and started placing a dish in front of each customer. When she was handing Daniel and Ruby their plates, she smirked. "It's a date," she declared.

Daniel sighed as the plate was placed in front of him. "Can we just eat," Daniel protested.

Coco chuckled. "Sure. Dig in."

Ruby bit into her burger, savoring its taste. All the ingredients blended together perfectly: the meat and bacon crumbled under her teeth (sorry vegetarians), the lettuce making a small, delicious crunch, and the sauces just made everything better. Ruby moaned, feeling like she was in nirvana. "No wonder you guys eat here all the time," she proclaimed, her mouth still full of food.

Coco chuckled, biting into her meal as well. "Well," she said after swallowing, "Daniel and I sometimes came out here with our teammates since one of them liked it, and it just spiraled out of control from there."

Ruby wiped her mouth. "How do you guys know each other?" Ruby asked finally.

Daniel took a sip from his drink. "You know the team I told you I saved to get in here?" Daniel asked. Ruby nodded. "That was Team CFVY," he finished.

Ruby's eyes widened as Coco laughed. "You make it sound like you actually did something, Danny," Coco commented.

Daniel gave Coco a sideways smirk. "I saved your guys' butts plenty of times."

"I call bull," Coco laughed. "You killed three Grimm during our trip."

"Four," he corrected. "And three of them were Majors."

Coco lifted her drink, tilting it slightly to Daniel. "Fair enough," Coco noted, taking a long sip. "So." She set her milkshake down with a thud. "How did you and Ruby meet?"

Ruby stirred her drink with the straw. "He sorta... tried to kill me," she slowly confessed.

Coco took off her sunglasses to look at Daniel and Ruby with wide eyes. "Daniel," she exclaimed. "I thought I told you better; don't kill your date when you meet her!"

Daniel looked at her, annoyed. "It was the heat of the battle, and they took my team away from me!"

"Come to think of it," Coco wondered. "Where are your teammates?"

Daniel leaned his forearms on the table. "Dead."

Velvet gasped. "How?"

Daniel grimaced. "Grimm attack on Vale," he told them the shortest version.

Coco patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry." she pitied.

Daniel smiled sadly as he took her hand off. "Don't be," he instructed. "Ruby helped me get over their deaths."

Velvet looked at Ruby with a small smirk. Ruby saw her out of the corner of her eye and jumped back. "Whoa," she started. "I like helping people, okay?"

Coco nodded to her plate. "Maybe you could help yourself by actually eating," Coco advised. Coco and Daniel already finished their food, Velvet was on her last bites, but Ruby's plate was barely touched. Her burger was only half-eaten, most of her fries were there, and the milkshake was barely touched.

Ruby shook her head. "Not hungry," she explained meekly.

Daniel looked at her skeptically. "You just spent an afternoon building a weapon. How are you not hungry?" he countered.

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know," she confessed. "I might've eaten too much for lunch."

Daniel nodded as he spotted a stray fry on his plate. He promptly plopped it in his mouth. Ruby looked up at him, giggling. Daniel looked back. "What's so funny," he asked.

Ruby pointed to her nose. "You've got a little something," she pointed.

Daniel rubbed his own nose, only taking off a small part of the ketchup on his face. "Like that?"

Ruby stifled a laugh. "No, silly. Here." She leaned over the table and planted a kiss on his nose, taking the ketchup stain with her. She leaned back to see Daniel sitting there in shock. His mouth parted and closed like a fish out of water. Daniel slowly folded his wings across his body, concealing him in a feather curtain. Ruby giggled at his reaction, but then her brain caught up to her heart's thinking. Quickly, without even asking Velvet to move, she jumped up from her seat and ran to the bathroom.

Coco and Velvet lost it. Coco started banging the table, laughing uproariously. Velvet sat back in her seat, giggling profoundly into the cuffs of her sleeves. "So," she started, her accented voice clear between the laughs. "Is it not a date?"

Daniel said nothing, still trying to comprehend what just happened. "Uh," he gasped out, having a little trouble breathing.

Meanwhile, at the five stalkers' table, everyone was trying their best not to laugh like Coco, except Yang. "That son of a…" she started angrily, "he's getting it now!" She started getting up.

Blake and Weiss pulled her back into her seat. "Yang," Blake hissed at her, "maybe we should just leave."

Yang turned to her sharply. "Leave? No, Daniel might do something with Ruby."

"Coco and Velvet are with them," Weiss reasoned, "They are responsible, and Daniel and Ruby can make decisions of their own."

Pyrrha and Jaune nodded in agreement. "She's right." Jaune started, "Ruby's in safe hands with Velvet and Daniel."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at him. "Not Coco?" she asked.

Jaune shrugged. "Eh, she's a bit too much like Yang."

Pyrrha tilted her head. "True enough."

Blake turned to Yang. "The point is," she continued, "we don't have to tail them anymore. Daniel is not about to 'hit' on your sister."

"But," Yang argued weakly. After a few moments of tense silence, she sighed. "Fine, I guess you're right."

The other four smiled. Suddenly, a toilet flushed from the woman's restroom, signaling Ruby was about to come out. The five all froze and then made a break for the exit. As the door slammed shut, Ruby came out of the bathroom, her face as red as a fresh rose. Velvet moved over, sitting in Ruby's old seat, and Ruby sat down, hands balled up between her legs.

"So, Ruby," Coco pestered, "mind telling me how Daniel stole your heart just now or was that on impulse?"

Ruby groaned and softly set her forehead against the table. "Ugh, please stop," she begged.

Daniel rested his temple on his palm. "Just stop, Coco." he agreed, "Team RWBY and JNPR have already done enough."

Velvet giggled. "But you two are so cute together!" she gushed in her slight accent. "Hold on." Daniel and Ruby looked up at her to see a bright flash. When it died down, Velvet was holding a camera in front of her face. "Got it!" she exclaimed, showing them the picture.

Coco smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Nice job." she complimented, "Now come on." She got up, putting a small stack of Lien on the diner's table. "We've got some clothes to shop for."

This time, it was Velvet who groaned. "Coco." Velvet complained.

"Velvet." Coco mocked in the same tone. "Come on, you need some new clothes."

Velvet reluctantly got up. "But, my clothes are just fine," she argued, gesturing at her current attire.

Ruby nodded her head with a slight tilt. "It's cute." she agreed.

Velvet smiled at her. "Thanks, Rubes." she thanked, messing up her hair.

Coco waved her off. "Yeah, yeah," she said offhandedly, "let's go!" She dragged Velvet by the elbow. Velvet let out a small yelp of surprise as Coco stormed off.

Daniel waved at them. "See you sometime soon," he yelled.

Ruby waved with him. "Bye," she said.

Coco turned back to them and smirked. "Next time," she started, "make sure you bring Ruby back as your girlfriend." And with that, Coco dragged Velvet through the exit.

Daniel let out a small laugh. "Ruby," he called softly. She turned to face him. "We should go back now."

Ruby pouted. "But I want to stay," she whined.

Daniel chuckled as he paid for the two of them. "We still need time to get back, so let's go." He held out his hand to her.

Ruby took his hand and got up from her seat. The two started walking out the door as a man walked into the restaurant. Annabeth came out to greet him. Before she did, she turned to the couple that was leaving. "See you guys later," she sent them away.

Ruby turned around with a large smile. "Bye Banana-beth," she waved.

Annabeth's grin turned into a cold stare. "Don't call me that," she warned. But they were already out on the sidewalk.

Ruby curled her arms around Daniel's arm as they walked back to Beacon. "Thanks for letting me make the bullets," she stated. "And thanks for dinner."

Daniel smiled as they boarded the ship. "It's fine," he reassured. "I'd do it again to see you smile."

Ruby blushed as they sat together. "Stop it," she coyly spoke.

Daniel chuckled as he draped his arm over Ruby's shoulders. "Come here," he offered.

Ruby sputtered but allowed Daniel to pull her closer, resting his arm across her back. Ruby slowly rested her head against Daniel's shoulder, sighing softly. She felt the heat from Daniel's body, and the soft rocking of the airship reminded her of her bed in her team's room, making her drowsy. Ruby yawned cutely, and Daniel smiled tenderly. He took off his cloak and draped it over Ruby like a blanket. Ruby's face turned an even more brilliant shade of red, but she accepted it and snuggled closer to Daniel, bring his cloak closer to her body. Daniel rested his head against Ruby's, closing his eyes to relish the feeling.

What seemed like a few minutes later, Daniel opened his eyes. The airship was parked at Beacon's dock, students disembarking. Daniel turned to Ruby and smiled. She was sleeping, eyes slightly closed, and her mouth was parted open, slowly breathing in through her nose and out her smiling mouth adorably. Daniel melted under the sigh, but he halfheartedly woke her up. "Ruby," he called softly, shaking her shoulder that wasn't leaning against his side.

Ruby slowly awoke, blinking the tiredness from her eyes. "Hmm," she muttered. She looked up at Daniel and gave him a small grin. "Hi Daniel," she said in a small voice.

Daniel rubbed his chin against the top of her hair affectionately. "We should get off," he advised.

Ruby stretched her arms out to him. "Carry me," she half commanded, half whined.

Daniel reeled back. "What," he asked, not believing his ears.

"Carry me," Ruby repeated.

Daniel sighed. "Carry you, huh?" He echoed.

Ruby smiled, closing her eyes. "Yep."

Daniel smirked deviously. Without warning, he wrapped up Ruby in his cloak and lifted her, bridal-style. Ruby yelped in surprise as she clung to his neck. Daniel laughed as he carried her from the docks to her room, Ruby screams echoing the halls for a few moments. Eventually, Ruby settled in his arms and snuggled in his arms, drawing his cloak into her body.

Daniel stopped when they reached Ruby's floor. "Well," he said. "This is your stop."

Ruby whined as she untangled herself from his makeshift blanket. "But it was comfy," she moaned.

Daniel chuckled as he looked down at her. At the same time, Ruby looked up into his face. They locked eyes, staring into them like there was no tomorrow. Daniel leaned down to kiss her forehead, and Ruby leaned up to kiss his cheek. Fate, on the other hand, decided to give them the middle finger, and they kissed each other on the lips.

For a second, Ruby and Daniel melted into it, enjoying each other's mouths. Then, they both froze. The two pulled away as Ruby started flailing around in Daniel's arms. Daniel, out of shock, dropped Ruby and heavily leaned against a wall. "That was…" he started and ended.

Ruby threw his cloak at him quickly, face a deeper shade than just beet-red. "Awkward," she finished for him.

Daniel looked at her between the fabrics of his cloak. "Do we speak of this ever again?"

Ruby blushed. "If you want to," she answered shyly.

Daniel put on his hood and rubbed the back of his neck. "Can we talk about this later?" He asked nervously.

Ruby nodded furiously. "That sounds good," she blurted a little too quickly.

Daniel awkwardly waved goodbye. "See you tomorrow," he said as he walked back to the stairs.

Ruby gave him a peace sign. "B-bye Daniel."

While Daniel left for his room, Ruby sat on the floor, recollecting her thoughts and emotions. Once she took back control of her thoughts and the color of her face, she made her way back to her room and opened the door. Weiss was filing her nails by her desk, Blake was once again reading, and Yang was laying on her bunk, staring at the ceiling. "Hey guys," she greeted calmly. Ruby started prepping for her sleep.

Weiss looked up from her nails. "Hello, Ruby," she replied. Then, with a grin, she asked, "How was your date?"

Ruby blushed as she took off her cloak. "It was fun," she answered. "We went out to eat after we made his weapons."

"Oh," Weiss cooed. "Was it romantic?" Blake was giggling softly, and even Yang had a small smile, enjoying her sister's discomfort.

Ruby huffed, "If you call being invaded and teased by Velvet and Coco 'romantic', then it was."

Weiss continued on. "Oh, so it was still good?" Ruby unexpectedly rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. "Ruby?" Weiss asked, concerned for their leader. From the bathroom, a violent wrench was heard. The rest of Team RWBY looked at the bathroom in shock. "Ruby," Weiss questioned again, knocking on the door rapidly.

The door opened slowly, showing Ruby with a toothbrush and a glass of water in her hand. "Sorry," she apologized meekly. "You might not want to use the bathroom for a while."

Weiss took a sniff and quickly plugged her nose. "Ruby," she said again, this time in disgust. "What was that? Was the date that bad?"

Ruby groaned in discomfort. "I don't know. Maybe I had a bad burger, maybe I had too much to eat. I don't know."

Blake donned a small frown. "That's too bad," she sympathized. Ruby nodded as she put a toothbrush in her mouth, toothpaste foaming from her lips as she tried to rid the acidic feeling from her mouth. Blake pulled her book back up to her face. "So, did you two kiss?"

Ruby spat a mouthful of toothpaste on the carpet. "Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed in disgust.

Ruby wiped her lips, blushing furiously. "What?" she yelled. Ruby started waving her arms around, rapidly firing her words. "Of course not. Well, it was sort of like a kiss… but it was more of an accident, I swear!"

Yang shot up into a sitting position, staring at Ruby. "Wait," she questioned. "Did you actually kiss him?"

Ruby moaned as she laid on her bed, slamming her face into the pillow. "I tried to kiss him on the cheek and missed," she complained, the pillow muffling her voice.

Weiss started giggling as Blake laughed loudly. Yang started to grow more and more furious. "I warned him!" She launched from her seat and stomped to the door. She encountered Weiss who was standing in front of it like a guard. "Out of the way," she shouted. "Daniel's head is mine!"

Weiss sighed. "Yang," she began. "Ruby already said it was an accident. And besides," she glanced over to Ruby. "You'll hurt your sister instead of helping her."

At those words, Yang took a second to stop and think about. After a few tense moments, she sighed. "Alright," she conceded. "He gets another free pass for touching my sister." As she walked back to her bed, she muttered, "At least for today."

Weiss smiled as she turned to face Ruby. "So," she teased. "Did you enjoy it?"

Ruby let out a muffled scream through her pillow that sounded like a muffled, "shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up" on repeat. Weiss and Blake were cracking up, and after a few seconds, Yang slowly joined him. Their laughter stopped when they heard a rapid, fast, but still loud knock at the door. "Open up," a girl's voice was heard through the wood.

Weiss got up and answered the door. Peeking her head through the small crack she made, she saw Pyrrha standing in front of their dorm with a huge smirk. Her hand was outstretched, palm up while her fingers made a motion that meant "gimme". "Pay up," she demanded playfully.

Weiss groaned and shut the door. She went to her bed to take out her purse. "How did she know," she groaned, taking out a few bills.

As the day dwindled away and the moon rose, Ruby laid on her bed, thinking about her day with Daniel. At the same time, Daniel was thinking about his day with Ruby. They both sighed as they turned over to sleep.

"I like her, don't I?"

"I like him, don't I?"

 **AN:Hey guys, Fireflame here. I made a mistake. Last chapter, I said I took off 6k words, when instead, I took off 7k words. Ah well, I hope you enjoyed chapter 7 of Wilting Rose.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading! I put in a bunch of easter eggs in this chapter because I could. If anyone can spot a few of these, I'll give you a virtual cookie in the next chapter.**

 **Now, I have a poll for you guys on Wilting Rose. What do you want Ruby and Daniel's first date to be? This may seem harmless, but your decision will actually change a few things besides the destination, so choose wisely! Fair warning, this WILL change more than a location, it's changing the entire story after it, so no pressure! Don't worry, the date won't come up for a few more chapters (4-5 more chapters before the date). As always, follow if you want more, favorite if you like this story, and review if you have compliments, critisism, or suggestions! Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	9. Chapter 8: A Very Vytal Speech

**AN: Ok, here's an update on the poll results for the next actual date. Beach and Hot air balloon are tied with 1, and then movie and under the cherry-blossom have none so far.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. If I did, a lot more people would be dead- wait what?**

Chapter 8: A Very Vytal Speech

Weiss woke up the morning after Daniel and Ruby's outing. With a small yawn, she sat up and stretched her arms over her head, her knuckles brushing against the bottom of Ruby's bunk. Weiss looked around their room, noticing Blake's empty yet clean bunk. Above that, Yang's but was also empty, but covered in various forms of junk and papers, the covers undone. On the door was a folded piece of paper taped to the doorknob. Weiss walked over to it and plucked the paper from its place.

Weiss unfolded the note and found Blake's handwriting. "Dear Weiss or Ruby," Weiss read out loud. "Yang and I woke up early and went to breakfast early. Meet us down there (or at Professor Dooley's class if Ruby's late)." Weiss crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trash bin. She started to make her way over to their closet, but halfway through the small walk, she heard a small giggle come from Ruby's bunk.

Confused, Weiss went over to their bunks and stood on her bed's frame to peek over Ruby's mattress. Ruby was in her covers, cuddling with a pillow. Even in her sleep, she had a small but playful smile on her face. Ruby giggled again. "Daniel, stop," she muttered teasingly as she rolled over so her back faced Weiss.

Weiss could barely contain her laughter as she sat back down on her bed, covering her mouth with both of her hands. Once she composed herself, she finally got out of her nightgown and into her usual clothing. As soon as she slipped on her shoes, Ruby woke with an almighty yawn. She sat up, smacking her lips together. "Good morning, Ruby," Weiss greeted.

Ruby smiled drowsily at her. "Hi Weiss," she replied. Ruby jumped off her bed, making it sway dangerously from the ropes it hung from.

Weiss looked at the bed warily. "Ruby," she started. "Maybe you should get a new bed. Or at least redesign it soon."

Ruby looked at Weiss incredulously. "Why?"

Weiss stared at her blankly. "Look at it!" She exclaimed, gesturing to the still swaying bed.

Ruby waved it off. "Eh," she commented. "It's fine."

Weiss sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "Mark my words, that bed will fall eventually. And if I'm sleeping underneath it when it does, I will make sure Yang will tell us all of your embarrassing stories and take all of your cookie privileges."

Ruby sighed in defeat as she rifled through the closet. "Fine, I'll fix it," she said, head still stuck in the closet. "What class do we have first today?"

"Weapon Mechanics with Professor Dooley," Weiss answered.

After a few moments of digging, Ruby took a pair of pants and blouse out from the closet. "Yay," she exclaimed. "Best class in Beacon."

Weiss left their dorm as Ruby dressed, waiting outside the door for her. A few seconds passed, and their door barged open yet again to find Ruby in her Beacon uniform.

Weiss looked at her uniform questioningly. "You do realize I said Weapon Mechanics, right?"

Ruby blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "Hehe," she chuckled, "Whoops." Ruby then turned around and shut the door for about a minute. Ruby opened it once again, this time in her combat outfit.

Weiss nodded. "Let's head down," she suggested, walking towards the stairs, "Blake and Yang are already waiting."

Ruby jogged to catch up and walked by Weiss's side. "So," she drawled, "Whatcha guys do when I was out yesterday."

Weiss shrugged, "The usual," she easily lied, "Blake read, Yang goofed off, and I, for one, studied for our upcoming tests."

"Of course, you would," Ruby muttered under her breath, smiling.

Weiss overheard and frowned. "Oh yeah? Well, have any weird dreams lately?" She countered.

Ruby's face turned fire-truck red. "W-what do you mean?" She stuttered.

Weiss grinned slyly as she turned to face Ruby, not slowing down her stride in the slightest. "I saw you cuddle you pillow with a small grin, murmuring about a certain crow Faunus friend of ours."

Ruby's face flashed a multitude of shades, but they all stayed on the color red. "Bu-… I… Um...," she stammered.

Weiss smirked triumphantly as she walked through the cafeteria's doors. "So it is true?"

Ruby shook her head rapidly. "No, no, no," she quickly denied. "I was just… um… remembering the weapon designs he showed me. Yeah, that's it."

Weiss just smiled. "Whatever you say, Ruby. Whatever you say." She went over to the line forming for some breakfast.

Once the two girls got their breakfasts, they headed back over to the tables. In the far corner, Yang stood up and waved from her seat. "Ruby," she shouted. "Over here!"

Ruby and Weiss made their way over to the table to find Blake, Daniel, Yang, and Team JNPR already seated. Yang sat back down to return chowing down on her food. "Morning, sis," she said with her mouth full.

Ruby smiled. "Hi Yang," she greeted. She turned to the rest of her friends, "Hey, guys."

The majority of Team JNPR waved back at her. "Hello again," Pyrrha said with a smile.

Daniel lifted his head from his tray to look at Ruby. Crimson and blue eyes locked with startling silver. Daniel blushed and looked away quickly. "Hi Ruby," he blurted out.

Everyone that stalked the pair the day before snickered as Ruby's face started heating up as well. "Hi," she said meekly.

Pyrrha rested her elbows on the table, lacing her fingers together and propping up her chin with the joints of her fingers. "How was the date, you two?" She asked slyly.

Ruby's face turned an even deeper shade of red, but Daniel just shrugged as he ate his cereal, "Pretty good, actually," he responded.

Weiss smirked as she tossed a grape into her mouth. "So it was a date?"

Daniel sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I might as well humor you guys."

Jaune nodded in understanding and smiled. "Fair enough," he commented, "So, where did you guys go?"

Now Daniel was the one smirking here, "Are you sure you can't answer that yourselves?"

Jaune paled, "W-what do you mean?" He tried to nonchalantly eat another piece of bacon.

Daniel pointed his thumb at Yang. "I'm sure Yang can answer that for you."

Yang, Weiss, and Blake sighed, "Busted," muttered Yang.

Daniel looked at them, "Who was in the stalker group?"

Ruby looked at Daniel in surprise. "Wait, you knew?"

Daniel shook his head, "Nah, I saw them sneaking around while we were eating," he explained.

Ruby glared at her sister who put up her hands in surrender. "Who was in it?" She questioned.

Yang smiled weakly. "Blake, Weiss," she listed, "Jaune, Pyrrha, and me."

Daniel turned to Pyrrha who, again, waved at him. "What did you bet on?"

Weiss turned to Daniel questioningly, "How'd you know we bet on anything?"

Daniel twirled a fork between his fingers. "One: Pyrrha's from Mistral, and it's tradition." Pyrrha nodded at this, "Two: you just confirmed it for me. So, what did you bet on?"

Pyrrha smiled. "We bet on if you would kiss Ruby. I bet you would, and Weiss bet you wouldn't."

"Who won?" Daniel asked offhandedly, taking a sip of water.

Pyrrha smirked, holding up a twenty Lien note, "Who do you think?"

Daniel almost took a spit take, but instead, he choked on his water instead of spitting it out. Ruby thumped him hard on his back as he coughed. Once his airway was cleared, Daniel glared at Pyrrha questioningly. "How did you know," he demanded.

The entire table, even Ren and Nora, stared at Daniel. Then, they shifted their attention to Ruby. Then Daniel, then Ruby. "Wait," Nora interrupted. "You two kissed?"

At this point, Ruby might as well always have a red face from the constant blushing. "Maybe," she replied meekly.

Nora started cheering and whooping loudly. Ren had a small smile, mentally congratulating the two. Blake, Pyrrha, Weiss, and Jaune had the biggest, widest, smuggest grins in the world, but Yang… she was absolutely livid, glaring at Daniel with a scrutinizing stare. Daniel groaned and set his head the table. "Ruby," he grumbled through the wood, "did you tell them?"

Ruby jumped up and wrapped her arms around Daniel's neck from behind. Daniel winced as his wings were pressed painfully against his back. "They were asking me a lot of times. I couldn't hold out," Ruby shouted dramatically. Ruby buried her face into the back of Daniel's neck. "Please don't hate me or them."

Daniel sat up straight and laughed. He reached back and wrapped his arms around Ruby's waist. "It's fine, Rubes." Ruby's only reply was to nuzzle her face farther into the back of his neck.

"Awwww," went the rest of the table. Even Yang joined in with a small smile, taking pictures to get even more blackmail.

Ruby jumped back quickly as Daniel's arms went slack. "Um… well…" she stammered. "I… have class now. Bye!" And with that, she used her Semblance to speed off to Professor Dooley's class, leaving her half-full tray.

Recovering from Ruby's quick absence, the rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR smirked at Daniel, a mischievous twinkle in their eyes. Daniel's brain soon caught up, and his face went cherry-red. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish on land, not able to form words at the moment. Daniel's friends just laughed at his speechlessness.

"Alright," Ren said while standing up. "I believe that's enough mental torture for Daniel right now. We should really head to class soon."

The others nodded their heads in agreement as they too got up, and Daniel looked at Ren and gave him a thankful look. Ren decided to give him a smirk that obviously meant, "Don't think this is the last of it." Daniel just sighed and walked away with his tray in his hands.

The group separated into their own ways, saying their goodbyes. Yang, Weiss, and Blake walked into their next class to find Ruby doodling mindlessly on a notebook. "Watcha got there, sis?" Asked Yang, resting her chin on the top of Ruby's head.

Ruby blinked a few times to see what she was drawing. Apparently, she drew a red and black cloaked figure holding a sword and sheath, facing away from them into a dense forest at night. On the edges of the cloak were blurs that suspiciously looked like the tips of crow wings. Around the edges of the drawing were a wreath of roses. Ruby blushed and covered the paper with her hands the best she could, but Yang spotted it too quickly. "What. Is. This?" Yang exclaimed, snatching up the drawing from Ruby's grasp and showing it to their teammates.

Ruby flailed her arms around to reach for the notebook, but Yang held her away with her other arm. "Yang, no! Stop!"

Weiss and Blake snickered. "Is this what you've been doing while we were eating?" Blake asked with a grin.

Ruby hid her slowly heating up face under her hood. "I didn't even think about it," she shouted defensively.

Yang pulled her sister in close for a tight hug. "Aw, it's ok Rubes. We know you always think about your boyfriend."

Ruby pushed Yang off of her. "He's not my boyfriend!" Ruby shouted quickly, snatching away her notebook from her so-called "friends".

"Settle down class," a voice sounded from the hallway. As the students took their seats, Professor Dooley stepped into the classroom. Professor Dooley was a brown haired man with a magnificent beard. He wore a formal, white dress shirt that was slightly wrinkled, had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and the top button was undone. Professor Dooley had on his signature plaid kilt on, the fabric (thankfully) going down just past his knees.

Once his students were in their seats, Professor Dooley slowly paced back and forth at the front of his classroom, not taking his eyes off of the students for a second. "Alright," he started. "Yesterday, I said we would learn the basic mechanics of how to replace and restore gun barrels, but there has been a… change to our plans."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that they weren't doing anything in a class. Everyone, except one person. "Awwww," Ruby pouted, sulking in the back of the classroom.

Professor Dooley chuckled. "Hang in there, Ruby. We'll get to that tomorrow." He then turned to face the rest of the students. "Ozpin has an announcement today, so all the teachers and staff are supposed to bring you kids down to the auditorium." Most of the class groaned, expecting another lecture of being a good huntsman or huntress. Professor Dooley smirked. "Didn't you guys want to skip having to work on weapons?"

A few seconds later, Goodwitch's voice sounded over the intercom. "Would all staff members please bring their students to the auditorium now," the speaker buzzed.

Professor Dooley snorted. "Well, there's the witch herself," he joked. "Come on, kids. You're not gonna want to disappoint the Goodwitch." He motioned for them to follow him out the door.

Dozens of chairs squeaked as they were pushed back from the students previously sitting in them. Once they were out of the classroom, hundreds of pairs of feet were heard, thundering through the hallways. "So," Yang turned to her team walking beside her. "What do you think Ozpin wants us to do now?"

Weiss shrugged as Blake tilted her head in thought. "Probably something important if he made us miss a class period for this."

Ruby groaned. "Why couldn't this happen tomorrow, when we don't have Weapons first," she complained.

Weiss let out a huff. "Oh, grow up, you," she chastised.

As they walked in, the room was already jam-packed with hundreds of bodies. On the stage was Ozpin, sipping his coffee in front of a microphone, and Goodwitch off to the side. There was an uproar of voices as the students speculated on what they were gathered for. Ozpin lowered his mug of coffee, "Settle down now, settle down."

As the noise became nonexistent, Ozpin swept his gaze over the room, "Are all the students here?" He asked the crowd. Along the walls, the line of professors and staff members nodded, "Good." He continued. "So, let's begin."

"I have gathered you all here for a very important announcement. As some of our oldest students remember, the Vytal Festival is supposed to be more than a competition in the arena to decide which kingdom is the strongest. On the contrary, it is used to unify the four kingdoms together in the face of danger and to help those that need to be helped." At this point, about half the audience had their eyes closed, either already asleep or planning on it.

Ozpin took another swig of his drink, "Which is why we, as the heads of the four schools, decided that this festival needed… a different approach." This got many students' attentions. Ozpin exhaled, ready to deliver the big news, "Last festival, the leaders of all the kingdoms, the head of the top schools, and a few key figures from each kingdom spoke out to explain their own kingdom and gave a speech. The leaders gathered last year, and they decided this was the wrong approach to teaching the Defenders of Tomorrow. So, we have decided on giving you not a lecture, but a dance."

Almost all the populations of females in the building looked up in excitement and anticipation. Ozpin's mouth twitched in amusement, "Hold on, now. There is a requirement to attend this prestigious event." A low buzz rung from the crowd, "I will let Miss Goodwitch explain the details of this event."

Ozpin stepped back as Goodwitch took the spotlight, "As you all know, this is an important event in the Vytal festival. Added to the fact that the leaders of each kingdom will be there, there will be zero tolerance of any misconduct. I repeat, there is absolutely no tolerance of any fights, pranks, and or misbehavior at this event. Failure to do so will result in, at a minimum, five months' worth of detention with the Headmaster and me." An audible shudder was heard from the crowd.

Goodwitch tapped a few things on the screen of her tablet. "Now, this event is not mandatory, but to join the Vytal Dance, you will need a formal attire similar to those you wore for our school dance. You must prove you are a student at one of our academies or pay to enter, which I highly do not recommend. And," Goodwitch peered over her glasses with a twinkle in her eyes, "Your partner must be from a different kingdom as yourself."

Many of the students let out loud yelps and "What!?"s in anger. Dozens of couples looked at their counterparts in sadness, and a select few were relieved that it was not mandatory (Cough, cough, Ruby).

Goodwitch ignored the crowd and went on, "This rule is enforced so students at every school interact with others outside of their comfort zone, or in this case, their kingdom. The leaders of Vale, Atlas, Vacuo, and Mistral all want students to understand their customs and tradition not just in their respective kingdoms, but throughout the land by spreading it through our kingdoms' warriors."

A bell chimed throughout the halls as Goodwitch ended. The professor looked up at the clock in the back of the room. "First period is over, now," she commented, "Please go to your next classes."

A loud murmur spread through the sea of students as the tide forced them all to the exits. In Team RWBY, Yang was excited at the prospect of another dance. "Come on, guys!" She exclaimed, "It'll be fun!"

Weiss let out a small huff. "I suppose we could all go, but who would we go with?"

Blake nodded in agreement, "Weiss is right, only Weiss has a partner that's outside of her kingdom: Neptune."

Yang looked at Blake questioningly, "Really? What happened to you and Sun?"

Blake shrugged, "It didn't work. We're essentially polar opposites. The only half-decent reason you all pair us up together is because… well," Blake's bow wiggled slightly.

Yang shrugged. "Eh," she said, "It was worth a shot." Yang turned to Ruby, "So, Rubes. You've been quite. What do you think about the dance?"

Ruby faced her sister and smiled brightly. "We don't have to go, guys! Ah, just a day to myself with Crescent Rose and a whetstone."

Yang tilted her head and put on an expression that clearly meant "Really?" "Ruby," Yang reasoned as she put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, "come on! It'll be fun, and besides, you really need to break out of your shell once in a while."

"Ugh," Ruby groaned as they entered Professor Goodwitch's class, "you still sound like dad. And like Weiss said," she plopped down in a seat, "I don't have a partner."

Ruby's teammates apparently disagreed as they all donned devious smirks. "Are you sure?" Blake said suggestively.

Ruby's face flushed. "W-what do you mean?" She stammered.

Weiss sat down next to Ruby. "Oh for the love of…" She threw her hands into the air in frustration, "Ruby, you can't possibly be that clueless, can you?"

Ruby threw her hood over her face, because nothing says, "I don't want to talk" like covering your head with something. "Nope," Ruby denied, "Nope, nope, nope. Not talking about that."

"Talking about what?" a voice asked behind the four ladies.

Team RWBY turned around to see Daniel walking up to them. Yang waved at him, beckoning him to their small group. She turned to her teammates and gave them a small wink. Blake chuckled and Weiss smiled knowingly. "Hey, Daniel," Yang greeted.

Daniel gave her a small, two-finger wave, "Sup?"

Yang grabbed onto Daniel's arm and pulled him up the steps. "Hey!" He exclaimed, his feet barely keeping up with Yang's tugging.

Yang smirked at him, "Hey, you want to hang out with us or not?"

Daniel sighed, "I might as well get used to this."

Yang nodded as she sat next her sister. Daniel sat at the opposite end, Weiss and Blake being in between Ruby and himself. "So," Daniel said again, "what were you guys talking about?"

Blake, Weiss, and Yang looked at each other with small grins, having similar trains of thought. "The trap is set," thought the three of them.

"Well," Weiss began nonchalantly, "If you must know, we were talking about Yang wanting to ask you to the dance."

Daniel and Ruby looked up in shock, Daniel staring at Yang as Ruby stared at Weiss. "Huh?" Ruby blinked.

"Say what know?" Daniel choked out.

Yang smiled seductively. "Yeah," she insisted, "would you go to the dance with me?"

Daniel and Ruby sat there in shock as Weiss and Blake quietly snickered to themselves. Daniel leaned forward and turned to address Ruby, "Did you tell them about Echo's prank?"

Ruby shook her head, "Nope," she denied.

"Okay," Weiss interjected, "Ruby, you're telling us what prank Daniel's talking about later. Now, Daniel, will you go with Yang to the dance or not?"

Daniel abruptly looked between Yang, Ruby, and Weiss. "You're serious?" he queried.

Ruby shook her head as Yang and Weiss nodded, lying through their teeth. Daniel then turned to Ruby, "You're okay with this?"

"Aw," Weiss cooed, "he has to ask his girlfriend before answering."

Ruby and Daniel's faces heated up simultaneously. "Buh-ah-he's, um, not my boyfriend," Ruby violently shook her head.

Daniel waved his arms in front of him. "No, no, no. She's not my girlfriend. Yang's just her sister, that's all."

Blake looked at Daniel from the corner of her eyes, wearing a small smile. "You still haven't answered the question," she pointed out.

Daniel sighed, "Well… I-" he drawled.

Ruby was by Daniel's side in an instant, putting on a serious expression. "No, he will not go with Yang," she answered for him. "You know why?"

Blake, Yang, and Weiss exchanged small, amused glances. "Here we go…" they thought.

Weiss asked, "Why, Ruby? Is it because it's your sister?"

Ruby shook her head, "Nope, it's because he's mine," she ended by wrapping her arms around Daniel's neck, her chest pressed against his wings and her chin on top of his head. "You hear me?" she snapped, "Mine!"

Daniel chuckled nervously as he patted Ruby's arms. "Ruby," he called, "you might want to play back what you just said."

Ruby looked down at Daniel in confusion. For a few seconds, she continued to stare at Daniel's mop of hair, and then she looked up in realization. Her gaze quickly flicked between her teammates doing a horrible job trying to conceal their laughter. For a few moments, all she could do was blink. Then, suddenly, "Eep!" she squealed, hopping back into her original seat. Ruby covered her head with her cape's hood, curling her legs up to her chest.

Ruby's teammates lost it. For the next minute, an uproar of laughter sounded through the stands, all emitted by the three girls. Blake hunched over, her sides aching from all the giggling, Weiss pressed her mouth into her palms to try and muffle her laughs to no avail, and Yang sat by Ruby, holding her in a tight hug while laughing at her sister's antics. Daniel, not knowing if he should be amused or embarrassed, just laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, Daniel," Yang started after her team recovered from their fit of laughter, "Do you know what to ask now?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows questioningly, "Ask what?"

Yang groaned, "Oh for the love of…" She threw her hands into the air, "Ask Ruby out to the dance!"

Ruby and Daniel looked up at Yang in surprise, "What?!" they exclaimed at the same time.

Weiss and Blake also looked at the blonde in confusion, "Wait, what?" they echoed.

Yang smiled and nodded. "Yeah," she chirped, "it gives Ruby a partner to the dance, so why not?"

Weiss looked at Yang skeptically, "But aren't you supposed to be protective of her?"

Yang waved her off, "I am; we're all going to be there to watch over Ruby and Daniel."

Daniel leaned over and popped his head out from where he sat, "You know I'm still here, right?"

All it took was a glare from Yang to make him rethink his next words. "I'll just… sit here quietly then…" He shrank back into his seat.

Yang smiled brightly. "Why, thank you, Daniel!" She complimented mockingly.

Blake joined in, "So, how do you propose that all of us can get in? It's not exactly like we can all find partners we want to go with, right?"

Yang held up a finger. "Now hold on, Kitty Cat," she chided, "I'm getting to it." Yang pointed at Weiss, "Weiss, you're from Atlas."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Thank you for pointing out the obvious," she jeered.

Yang blatantly ignored her comment, "And Blake, you're from…"

"Outside of Vale." Blake finished vaguely.

Yang smiled. "Perfect!" she beamed, "Weiss can go with Neptune and ditch him later."

"Hey!" Weiss exasperated.

Yang ignored the girl, "Blake can go with me; Goodwitch never specified that our partners had to be dates, so all of us can watch over Daniel and Ruby!"

Ruby blinked at her sister. "You've put too much thought into this, haven't you?" she commented.

"Alright," Yang exclaimed, rubbing her hands together, "now that we've got that under control-."

"Ruby Rose!" Goodwitch called from the arena.

The team and Daniel turned to their professor who was impatiently tapping her foot. "Yes?" Ruby responded.

Goodwitch drummed her fingers on the tablet in her hands, clearly annoyed. Goodwitch spoke, "Now, since you've answered to my fourth call," Ruby blushed, "we can now get on with the match. Sky Lark and Ruby Rose, to the field."

Ruby turned back to her team. "Well," she mumbled, "wish me luck!" And she walked off to the arena.

Sky walked down the aisle with swagger, but almost anyone could see the trembling in his hands. The three from Team RWBY and Daniel smirked. "On a scale of one to ten," Daniel asked, "how screwed is Sky?"

Yang tilted her head. "Knowing my sis…" She looked up, thinking for a few moments. "I'd give it about an eight-point-nine."

Weiss looked at Yang incredulously. "You do realize; this is Ruby we're talking about. You know, the one that apparently can decimate an entire pack of Beowolves like you told us?"

Yang stared back with a half-smile. "This is also the same Ruby that hates hurting regular people unless she has a reason to."

Weiss narrowed her eyes in thought. "Fair point." she considered.

Daniel looked at the two in shock. "She did what now?" he marveled.

Yang nodded. "That's right, Danny." she confirmed with a proud smile, "Ruby was able to kill a pack of Beowolves by herself a year back."

Daniel let out a whistle as Weiss smugly turned to him. "Oh Daniel," she teased, "are you jealous that your girlfriend is a better fighter than you?"

Yang stared blankly at Weiss as Daniel groaned and flopped back in his seat. "I don't know whether to give you a high-five for making that diss," Yang commented, "or to punch you for calling Ruby his girlfriend."

Weiss was about to retort before Goodwitch shouted, "Begin!" And with that, the match started.

As the match started, Ruby rushed in as Sky raised his halberd tensely to block the incoming attack. The match was insanely one-sided; Ruby's speed and skill outmatched anything Sky could ever throw back at her.

As the match drawled out, the rest of Team RWBY's faces turned from grins and smirks into looks of confusion and suspicion. Daniel, on the other hand, was contently looking at the way Ruby fought, smiling every so often as she got a hit off on Sky (scratch that; he got hit a lot. Daniel smiled quite often). Eventually, Ruby put Sky out of his misery by letting off a vicious kick to his sternum, putting his aura bar into the red. "The match goes to Ruby Rose," Goodwitch announced.

The audience clapped, Daniel being the loudest. Oddly enough, Ruby's team only reluctantly clapped which went unnoticed by the others. "You're right, Yang," Daniel commented as Goodwitch was talking with the combatants, "that was an eight-point-nine."

Yang narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "No," she argued, "that was at most a four."

Daniel skeptically glanced at Yang, but Weiss nodded her head in agreement. "I wouldn't even give that a four," Weiss commented. "Her form was all over the place."

"She didn't have the same grace as she usually does." Blake put in.

Yang rested her chin on the backs of her hands. "I don't know what happened." she admitted, "Maybe she was distracted?"

Weiss stared at Yang. "What would he be distracted… by…" she trailed off.

Noticing the meaning in her words, Weiss and her teammates all stared at Daniel with blank expressions. Daniel's gaze flickered between them in confusion. "What?" He cried.

Slowly, Yang's expression turned into fury as Blake and Weiss donned giant smirks. "What did you do to Ruby?" Yang questioned ferociously.

Daniel looked at Yang, shocked and just slightly scared. "You think I did this?!" He proclaimed.

"I don't know," Yang shot back, "you tell me!"

Daniel threw his hands up. "If she was distracted because of me," he snapped, "it's because you three and Team JNPR are always making such a big deal out of us!"

Yang reeled back at his sudden outburst. Taking a few deep breaths, Daniel closed his eyes. "Sorry," he growled, "but you guys can at least give us some space to actually think about it."

Weiss and Blake nodded, shocked at his view of their teasing. "Alright," Weiss relented, "I'll stop the teasing. At least, I'll slow it down."

Yang rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm sorry I was quick to accuse you." Yang stretched out her hand to Daniel. "No hard feelings?"

Daniel's eyes still had a fire in them, but it was slowly dialing down. "None at all," he agreed reluctantly, taking Yang's hand in a handshake.

"I'm back, guys!" Ruby exclaimed happily. The four sitting down turned to the small girl. "What did I miss?"

"Ruby," Blake spoke, "sorry for being blunt, but what was that?"

Ruby stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"What she means," Weiss started, "is that your fight with Sky was horrible, to say the least?"

Now Ruby looked at her partner in shock. "What?!" She drawled.

Yang nodded. "Ruby," she said, "you looked like you were still in Year One at Signal. What happened?"

Ruby turned to Daniel questioningly. "Don't look at me!" he defended with his hands in a surrendering fashion, "this is my first time paying attention to your fighting."

Ruby sighed as she flopped down beside her sister. "I don't know." she admitted, "I don't know exactly, but it feels like I've got butterflies or even birds in my stomach."

Weiss smirked at Ruby. "Is it loooooove?" She cooed.

Daniel glared at Weiss. "I thought we established this." he exasperated.

Weiss turned to him cheekily. "Who says it was to you?" she jested.

"No, it's not that." Ruby denied without even a hint of red in her cheeks. She stared at the ground intently. "It's like-." Without warning, her cheeks didn't turn a shade of red, but green as the puffed up. Ruby rushed over to a trash can and violently retched, throwing up an acidic and sickly-green mess.

Ruby's team blinked in shock. "Well," Yang mused, "I guess we know why she did badly in the fight."

"Yep," Blake and Weiss went.

Daniel rushed over to Ruby's side, rubbing small circular patterns into her back. "Ruby," he asked gently, "are you alright?"

Ruby lifted her head from the trash can to glare at Daniel. "Does it look like I'm alright?" she snapped.

As Daniel stared back in shock, Yang went over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah," she began, "Ruby gets cranky when she gets sick." Yang turned to her sister. "Ruby?"

Ruby turned to give Yang an annoyed look. "Yes?" she asked, her voice sharp but nasally.

Yang patted her on the back softly. "Let's get you to the nurse's office." She turned to the Professor. "Professor Goodwitch, can I take my sister to the infirmary?"

Goodwitch looked up from the match at hand to see 3 students, one hunched over a trash bin, looking a sickly pale even for her. She motioned for the sisters to leave. "Go," she insisted.

Yang nodded and started to softly drag Ruby away. "Wait!" Daniel called out. Yang and Ruby turned around. Daniel rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Would you… like to accompany me… to the…" Daniel threw back his head, "Let's just get it over with. Would you like to go to the dance with me, Ruby?" He rushed out.

Even during the sickness, Ruby's faces turned a brilliant shade of red. Before she could answer, Yang turned her back around. "Not now," Yang chastised, "we're busy."

Ruby shook off her sister to turn her head to face Daniel. "Sure!" she shouted as Yang dragged her away.

As Ruby was herded away, Daniel couldn't help but put on a stupid smile. He sat back down in his seat with a sigh of relief. After a minute or two, he started hearing giggling. Turning to his right, he saw Blake and Weiss giggling like a pair of schoolgirls. Oh wait, they technically are. "Really guys," Daniel exasperated, "can you give it a rest?"

Weiss just looked Daniel in the eye with a twinkle in her own. "Dust, do we have a story to Team JNPR."

 **AN: Hey guys, Fireflame here! So, if any of you guess there would be a Ball, congratulations! If not, it's understandable. I just thought that it was weird that a festival about unity only has a fighting competition. Anyway, I've been sorta busy with schoolwork, volunteer work, and random music stuff, so the chapters might not come as soon as you guys want them to. Don't worry, I'll try to stick to the twice a month schedule.**

 **You know what? I'll give you guys something to ponder on and vote for. I've decided to kill off at least one of the main characters. Each poll from here on out will help me decide which one to kill. For example, the movie has a 20% chance of killing Ruby or Daniel, based off of your guys' next poll answers. Happy polling! Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	10. Chapter 9: Who is It?

**Disclaimer: I do not, repeat, DO NOT own RWBY. If I did, you guys would probably hate RT for my decisions on the show. Also, long AN at the end of this chapter. News on the poll and character development in there.**

Chapter 9: Who is It?

After a few more lessons, Team RWBY minus Ruby found themselves at lunch period, starving for anything that was edible. "Man, I'm starving!" exclaimed Yang, rubbing her abdomen to emphasize her point.

Weiss turned to her teammate. "Do you really have to say that?" she asked, "We're right in front of the cafeteria." Blake gestured to the entrance in front of them.

Yang blatantly ignored the comment and got a tray jam-packed full of food. Weiss and Blake shortly followed with significantly less food than Yang, making it about average for a regular person instead of a meal fit for five people. They found Team JNPR already waiting for them at a table and sat next to them. "Hey, guys!" Yang greeted.

Jaune looked up from his food and smiled. "Hey, Yang!" he replied, giving a small wave. He then looked at the three new girls as a whole. "Where's Ruby?" he asked.

Blake grimaced, "Ruby's sick. She had a noticeably bad match in Goodwitch's class and threw up afterward."

Pyrrha glanced at the part of Team RWBY that was present. "That's awful." she commented, "We hope she gets well soon."

As the rest of Team JNPR all gave their comments on Ruby's recovery, no one noticed Daniel as he joined the table. "Hey, guys!" he said. Daniel then looked at Yang's plate. "Yang? Are you sure you didn't get too much food?"

Yang looked back in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she asked, "I mean, Nora also has the same amount of food that I have!"

Jaune tilted his head. "Well, it _is_ Nora we're talking about," he pointed out.

Yang stopped for a moment and then nodded in grudging agreement. "Fair point." she agreed before resuming to devour her meal.

Daniel was about to join her until Weiss spoke spontaneously, "So, Daniel's going to the dance with Ruby. Any thoughts on that?"

The rest of the table turned sharply to face Daniel. he himself raised his fists up like he was about to pound the table in annoyance but hesitated. He slowly unclenched his hands and took a rather angry sip from his water. Letting out a deep sigh, he spoke, "Whatever. At this point, I'm just done with the whole thing."

Pyrrha looked at Daniel with a pleasant smile. "Congratulations!" she announced.

Daniel gave her a small smile. "Thanks," he said, albeit hesitantly. Daniel looked at the rest of Team JNPR, "Are you guys going to the dance, too?"

Nora nodded. "Yep," she affirmed, "we're going. Pyrrha and Jaune are going together, and Ren and I are as well."

Weiss looked at her in confusion. "Aren't you and Ren both from-?"

"It's Nora." argued Ren, "She'll find a way."

Just then, Blake started to get a call on her scroll. She took it out and took a look. The only image on it was a black silhouette of a man with a question mark on him. Blake answered and held it up to her ear. "Hello?" she asked, "Who is this?"

A low voice sounded that only Blake could here, but it obviously spooked her. With only a few words, her body went rigid, and she stood up quickly. "I have to take this," she told her friends.

Weiss looked at the black-haired ninja in confusion as she left. "What was that about?" she wondered.

Yang shrugged, "Dunno, but we should let her sort it out."

Weiss nodded in agreement, and they all went back discussing the big news of the upcoming dance. As the lunch went on, a few of them, mostly Weiss, Yang, and, surprisingly, Daniel sent out messages to Blake. Eventually, their time dwindled away until they had to go back to class, but Blake still hadn't returned from her call. At the end of lunch, Yang started to worry for her partner. While they were leaving the cafeteria, the group spotted Blake walking quickly down the halls, in the opposite direction of their next class.

"You guys go ahead." called Yang as she separated from the group, "I'll see what's wrong with Blake."

As Weiss, Daniel, and Team JNPR left, Yang ran over to catch up with Blake. "Blake, wait up!"

Blake either didn't hear Yang through the noise of the hallway, or she was ignoring Yang. Neither one boded well with the fiery blonde. "Blake, hold up!" Yang repeated, catching up to her. She turned her partner around only to gasp in shock. On her normally expressionless face, Blake had a face like she had just seen a ghost. Her skin was paler than before, and her eyes flicked from person to person like she was being watched. "Blake?" Yang asked, concerned for her partner.

Blake put her hands on Yang's shoulders roughly. "You cannot tell anyone about this, got it?" she demanded.

Yang put her hands on Blake's for comfort. "Blake," she coaxed, "what's going on?"

Blake started running, dragging Yang through the hallways. "We have to tell Ozpin," she said.

"Blake!" Yang repeated, "Tell me what's going on!"

Not losing a stride, Blake turned her head to face Yang, a wild look in her eyes. "It's something my partner said to me." she vaguely answered.

Yang looked at her, befuddled. "What are you talking about?" she questioned, "What did I say?"

Blake turned back to face where they were headed. "Not you." she explained, "It was my previous partner."

xX-Line Break-Xx

Weiss calmly sat in Professor Port's class, making a few notes on his "lecture". In reality, Weiss was fuming on the inside. It was twenty minutes into the class period, and neither of her healthy teammates had returned from their little adventure. " _What's gotten into them?"_ she fumed.

Professor Port was enthusiastically continuing his story, "And then, suddenly, as I climbed onto the back of the Nevermore, I-." He was interrupted by the door of his classroom being swung open. Professor Goodwitch stepped in, her gaze raking through the dozen or so students in the room. "Ah, Professor Goodwitch." he exclaimed, "To what pleasure do I owe for you to join us?"

"Actually, Peter," Goodwitch replied, "I was sent by the Headmaster to gather Miss Schnee."

Weiss looked up at Goodwitch, her anger at her teammates being replaced by curiosity and confusion. "What?" she questioned.

Goodwitch nodded. "The Headmaster needs your team in his office." With that, the professor calmly strolled out of the classroom with Weiss stumbling to catch up.

xX-Line Break-Xx

Ozpin was sitting at his office with Yang and Blake standing in front of him. As he calmly sipped from his mug, he studied the two girls. While Yang was being her natural self, with the exception of the amount of concern for her partner, Blake was a different story. Her posture was tense, and her expression was worrisome. She constantly darted her eyes to and from the room, like she was trying to find something that shouldn't be there. Before, Blake was guarded, but she was at least loose. Now, it seemed like she was a prime spring, ready to be sprung at any point.

After what felt like an eternity, the elevator doors to his office opened and out stepped Goodwitch and Weiss. "What is the meaning of this?!" demanded Weiss as she stormed up to her teammates.

Yang shrugged. "I have no idea." she admitted, "All I know is Blake freaked out, and all she'll tell anyone is, 'It's about more than one-person's past'."

Ozpin looked at Goodwitch. "Where's Miss Rose?" he asked.

"Miss Rose was sent back to her dorm with a sickness." Goodwitch calmly replied, "If you want, I could-."

"No, don't!" Blake shouted. The others in the room turned to her sharply. "It's best if she doesn't know."

"Blake," Yang stated seriously, "you really have to start talking now. What does this have to do with us, especially Ruby?"

Blake sighed, recomposing herself. "I assume all of you in this room know about my past, correct?" she asked. All of the occupants in the room nodded. "So you know I was in the White Fang?"

Ozpin motioned to Blake, "Continue."

"While I was in the White Fang," Blake explained, "we all had partners. Each partner was supposed to be the person we trusted the most, above all except for our leaders and highest ranking members. Well, actually, my partner was more like a mentor to me."

Goodwitch let out a huff. "We understand," she said, "but what does this all link to?"

Blake turned to her teammates. "Remember the call that I got in the lunchroom?" Yang and Weiss nodded seriously. "That was my partner, Adam."

xX-Back in time! Wooohhooooo-Xx

"Hello?" Blake answered the call, "Who is this?"

"It's me." a deep but scarily familiar voice was heard from the scroll.

Blake froze up. Covering the mic on the scroll she announced to her friends, "I have to take this." Then, she left the place in a hurry.

As she walked through the halls, her scroll vibrated constantly, obviously her teammates growing concerned. She rushed past dozens of students, drawing the attention of more than just one set of eyes. Getting to a safer and more private spot, she returned her attention to the caller. "How did you get this number?" she hissed.

"Calm down, Blake." Adam replied, "It's just me."

"Just you?!" Blake echoed, "That's like saying 'it's just a book'. I'll ask again, how did you get this number?"

"Your parents were very cooperative when I told them you were in danger."

Blake froze in her tracks. She ground her teeth together. "Leave my parents out of this!" she shouted, "I don't care what you or the White Fang have done-."

"Why haven't you spoken to them since you've left?"

"ADAM!" Blake punched a wall out of frustration. She bit her lip, muffling a scream of anguish, "Leave them out of this!"

"Okay, I'm sorry. You don't know how hard it was to track you, even your parents. Thankfully, I was your partner."

"What did you do to my parents?" growled Blake,

"Relax, they're fine." Adam told her, "I just wanted to know how to contact you. No one was hurt except their coffee table."

"Why were you there?" demanded Blake.

"I needed a way to reach someone I knew, someone I trusted that wasn't, currently, part of the White Fang."

"I had your number specifically blocked." admitted Blake, "How are you calling me?"

"I used a different scroll. They were tracking my first one."

"They?" Blake asked, "Who's 'they'?"

"It doesn't matter." Adam snapped, "Just know that I'm being followed. Any more information I give you can and will put a bounty over both of our heads."

Blake let out a huff. "Like that makes a difference for you." she sassed.

"You know what I mean! Developed a sense of humor, I see. Anyway-."

"Why should I believe a word you're saying?" Blake shouted at her scroll. "For all I know, you could just be feeding information to the White Fang as we know it. I mean-."

"I left."

Blake's rant came to a screeching halt. "You what?!"

"You heard me," Adam insisted, "I left the White Fang."

"But, that was your life!" Blake interjected, "I thought that's what you believed in."

"It was," Adam replied, "and it still is. My feud is with humanity's view on Faunus rights, and I plan on correcting them. The hard way. The problem is, I can't keep working there. Their cause is swaying in the wrong direction. They're starting to stray from our beliefs of equality. Now, they all just want power and glory, especially _those_ people."

"Who are you talking about? Adam, I-."

"There's no time! Listen, I'm in a safe-house right now, but I'm in a White Fang safe-house; I can't stay here for long. You have to talk to Ozpin. Tell him: the queen's pawns are not what you think. One of them _is_ the queen."

Just then, Blake's scroll sounded. She pulled it away from her ear to see the message that Daniel just sent. "Even Daniel, huh?" she wondered aloud.

"Wait, Daniel?!" Adam shouted over the call.

"What about him?" Blake replied, putting the scroll back to her ear.

"Are you talking about Daniel Gotzon?"

Blake's eyes narrowed. "How do you know him?" she questioned aggressively.

A low and slightly hysterical laughter came from the scroll's speaker. "How do you not remember him, is a better question." Adam shot back.

"Stop it with the riddles, Adam!" Blake demanded, "Tell me, what do you know about Daniel as well?"

Adam chuckled, "You remember. You just don't know it. Tell Daniel this from me: 'time for you to rejoice. Three of you survived'."

"Adam! Stop talking in-." Blake's shouting was cut off as her scroll let out a beep, signaling the end of the call. "Dammit!" She shouted, throwing her scroll at the wall. Thankfully, they were designed to sustain a lot of damage, so it didn't break. Blake was huffing like she'd just ran a mile without stopping. She gathered her scroll and rushed out of the abandoned classroom.

xX-Line Break-Xx

"That's all he told me." Blake ended her tale.

Ozpin had a worried expression from the new news about the threats. Goodwitch narrowed her eyes in suspicion, and Yang and Weiss just stared blankly at Blake, comprehending the tidal wave of information. "Are you sure we can trust this source?" Ozpin questioned.

Blake looked up into Ozpin's eyes unblinking. "I trust him," she responded.

Goodwitch took a step towards her. "Are you sure? He could just be lying to-."

"I'm sure of it." Blake snapped, "If there's one thing I know Adam for, it's that he never lies. He's never lied to me before, and he's had no incentive to yet."

Yang put a hand on Blake's shoulder. "What did Adam want with Daniel?"

Blake shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted.

"He said three of them survived," Weiss pointed out, "and nothing else." Her eyes widened in realization. "Could he mean-?"

"Part of Daniel's team survived?" finished Goodwitch, looking up in understanding. "It's impossible; I surveyed the bodies myself."

"But if that's not the case," Yang said, "then what is?"

Ozpin turned to Blake. "Are you sure you do not remember anything about Daniel before the Breach incident."

Blake shook her head yet again. "No sir," she said, "I either don't know or it was something only Adam remembers."

Ozpin nodded. "Thank you." he said finally, "Thank you, Blake, for telling me this information. If you truly believe this… Adam… is telling the truth, then we have gained a massive advantage over our true enemies. You are all dismissed."

When they were a few feet away from the elevator doors, Ozpin called out, "One last thing." The three girls turned around to face the Headmaster. "You may tell Miss Rose about this meeting, but do not tell Daniel or Ruby about Adam's message to him."

Yang looked at the white-haired man angrily. "But sir-."

"Do not." Ozpin demanded, "Daniel has already had a hard time coping with his losses. We do not need for him to feel a larger burden that we ourselves don't even know about."

"What about Ruby?" Yang argued, "Why can't we tell her?"

The corners of the Headmaster's mouth twitched in slight amusement. "I think you can answer that yourself. She's too open. Too trusting. It was too easy for me to realize your plans on unearthing the White Fang's operations with Miss Rose leading it all. Also, she's become… attached to Daniel, as you've all seen."

Yang was about to protest when Weiss beat her to it. Weiss nodded. "Understood, sir." And with that, Weiss and her team left Ozpin's office.

As they walked the halls, the majority of Team RWBY mulled over the new information that just overloaded their minds. "Do you really think Adam's telling the truth?" Weiss asked the question on everyone's mind, "About Daniel, I mean."

Blake turned sharply to her teammate. "Why would he lie?" she shot back.

Weiss let out a huff. "In case you forgot," she pointed out, "he was your partner. He might lie to get close to you again and then pass the information to the White Fang."

Blake shook her head. "He wouldn't lie." she refuted, "In all my years with Adam, not once did he lie to me. No matter what, he was brutally honest with me, something I appreciated. No, if he lied, this would be a first. Add the fact that the White Fang is essentially his new family, and he has no reason to lie."

Weiss turned to the unusually quiet Yang who was staring at the ground expressionless. "Yang?" she called, noticing the tension in her posture.

Yang's head shot up and turned to the source of the sound. Realizing it was only Weiss, she relaxed slightly. "Yeah?" she replied.

Weiss and Blake exchanged a worried glance. "What's on your mind?" the two asked.

"What?" Yang denied in a forced upbeat tone, "There's nothing wrong, what are you talking about!" Weiss and Blake just stared at her imploringly. With a sigh, Yang stared at the tiles under her feet. "It's just… I've never kept a secret like this from Ruby."

Weiss grimaced, thinking about how hard this would hit Yang. Her situation loosely reminded her of her relationship with Winter. While they weren't considered close as sisters should be, the siblings never directly lied to each other; Winter was always brutally honest. "Just remember," she suggested, "you're doing this to protect Ruby."

Yang smiled sourly back at her. "Still, doesn't make it much easier to bear."

The three realized that they reached their room a few minutes ago and were currently standing outside the door. The moment Yang pushed open the door, a red blur tackled her with a hug. "Hey, Rubes." Yang greeted with a smile, reciprocating the gesture, "How're you holding up?"

Ruby moaned as she climbed back onto her bed. "I think I'd rather have the stomach flu than the medicine," she complained.

Yang chuckled at her sister's antics. She was gathering her materials for her next class before Ruby spoke again, "So, why did Ozpin call us down to his office?"

Yang froze. "How did 'ya know about that, sis?" she asked in a neutral tone, but on the inside, she was panicking.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Hello," she said in a singsong voice, "team leader here has all the news!"

Yang continued to pack up a textbook, but her hands were shaking and her mouth was clamped shut. Thankfully, Blake came in with a save. "Oh, Ozpin called us down for our input on the Vytal Festival, since we are one of the only first year teams competing." she lied easily.

Ruby shrugged. "Oh, okay!"

As Ruby turned back over to sleep, Yang sighed. " _This is gonna be hard._ " Yang thought.

Back at Ozpin's office, Ozpin and Goodwitch had their own problems to deal with. As soon as they knew they were not being overheard, Goodwitch turned back to Ozpin. "We need to get in contact with Qrow. Now."

Ozpin sighed, "The problem has spread even farther than we imagined." He took a small sip from his coffee, "I'm going to need all the information on all students in my academy, and reestablish contact with Qrow."

"Understood, sir," Goodwitch said with a nod. She turned to leave but stopped. "You know what Miss Belladonna's partner meant with Daniel's situation, don't you?" she questioned.

Ozpin grimaced. "Let us pray that I'm wrong. You remember Daniel's backstory, don't you?"

Goodwitch nodded. Then, with a sudden realization, she gasped. "That means…"

Ozpin nodded. "Which is exactly why I don't want him to find out. He gets too narrow-minded about this sort of thing. Mr. Gotzon already has enough on his plate. Let's not give him another weight to lift."

 **AN: Hey guys, fireflame here. So, I'm getting this chapter out early for two reasons. One, I can't help it; sorry I'm not sorry that I'm spoiling you guys. Two: I have a lot on my plate this month, so I'm getting this off my chest asap.**

 **Anyway, about the chapter. Now, I'm probably gonna take a new spin on Adam's personality. I hate how in the show he's portrayed as just an extremist that is willing to use Grimm and humans to brand himself as evil and a hypocrite. So, I just made him leave (debating on still whether or not to kill him off, but it's leaning heavily towards saving him). If anyone wants something different about this, let me know.**

 **So, I would like to thank this one Guest that's come onto my story and added about a quarter of the reviews I currently have. Let me just say it right now; thank you so very much for the support. I'm sorry if I've decided to kill someone off, but it's still gonna suck for me to write it. Also, I can't believe you might've gotten the meaning of "You Know What". I intended on showing that off in like 3 chapters, but you caught on right away. Round of applause to you.**

 **Ok, for the poll. The beach and cherry-blossom have taken the lead with 2, the hot-air balloon is sitting at 1, and no one's voted for the movie (probably because of what I mentioned the last chapter). Let me get one thing straight right now; I will kill one character. What you vote for depends on who. I might kill off Ozpin, a member of RWBY, JNPR, CRME, CFVY, Roman, Daniel, you name it. There are about 3 characters that I will not touch on and those are Yang, Mercury, and Qrow (maybe Zwei could be added). I will save as many as I can, but you can't have a good story if it's just happiness and sunshine throughout; it just becomes so bland and predictable, which I don't want to do. That's all. Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	11. Chapter 10: Three S's

**Poll Update: Under the Cherry-blossom and Beach are tied at 3, Hot-air balloon is at 2, and no one's voted for the movie. Is that because of the cliche-ness, or is it something I said? (Probably the latter)**

 **Disclaimer: I own RWBY as soon as I convince the world that my name is Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth at the same time.**

 **Disclaimer 2: Small poll update at the end, and a long AN. Be sorta prepared.**

 **I would like to again thank my amazing beta, Mr. Nobody or YARN.**

Chapter 10: Secrets, Surprises, and Suddenly Sprung Sadness

The next day, Team RWBY was early for breakfast, surprisingly. So, when Team JNPR came down to the dining hall, they were met with the sight of the other team's common shenanigans; Yang and Weiss were once again arguing (this time over Weiss's constant and over-the-top study habits), and Blake was reading, once in a while turning to a notebook to doodle in a sketch or take a note. Surprisingly, Ruby was pushing her food around on her plate, looking completely untouched. Then again, she was still recovering from a stomach virus.

"Hello, everyone!" greeted Pyrrha with a wave.

Ruby was the first to lift her head towards their direction. "Hey, guys," Ruby replied, a smile present on her face.

"You feeling any better today, Ruby?" Jaune asked while sitting down next to her, "From what I heard, it was a pretty violent sickness."

Ruby waved him off. "Nah, I'm fine now. If anything, the medicine was worse than being sick." This drew a small chuckle from the rest of the table. "That reminds me," Ruby wondered, "where's Daniel?"

Nora shot a teasing smirk in Ruby's direction. "Of course _that_ would be your first concern." This drew a bright red blush from Ruby as the table once again laughed at her expense.

"It's good to care for you _friends_ , right?" a voice spoke behind Nora, emphasizing the 'friends' part.

Ruby's face lit up with a bright smile. "Heya, Daniel!"

Daniel returned a smile of his own. "Hey, Ruby, he greeted. Another glance swept over the rest of his friends. "Hey, guys. Did I miss anything?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "No, we just arrive a few seconds ago," she replied.

Daniel turned to Yang. "You guys been up to anything?" he asked offhandedly.

Unexpectedly, Yang flinched at the sound of Daniel's supposed accusation. "What makes you think that?" Noticing his suspicious gaze, she added, "I mean, it's not anything big, just a sort of side project."

"Uh huh." Daniel huffed, cocking an eyebrow. "Yep, definitely the truth," he commented sarcastically.

Yang rolled her eyes, but on the inside, she was panicking. "Fine, it's just a little surprise we're keeping." she lied, "It's nothing to worry about."

But Daniel wasn't buying any of it. As the week passed by, the majority of Team RWBY was unusually secretive. Blake, Yang, and Weiss talked in hush whispers while giving Daniel and Ruby occasionally subtle glances. Well, Blake and Weiss were subtle, but Yang didn't have the same elusiveness as the other two. Even though he knew them for less than a few days, Daniel knew that something was going on with their team. On Friday, he finally caught Ruby alone in the library, studying. Daniel decided to tag along, his excuse being: "I might as well find a new study partner."

After about a quarter of an hour into their study session, Daniel couldn't help it. He had to ask. "Hey, Ruby?" he spoke up.

Ruby peered over the top of the book she was reading. "Yeah, Daniel?" she replied.

"Do you think something's happening in your team?" he asked tentatively.

Ruby's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, for the past week, your team's been giving us weird glances," Daniel admitted.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Is that anything new?" she remarked.

Daniel chuckled softly. "No, not like that." he clarified, "It's been a lot more secretive peeks and hushed whispers. If they wanted to annoy us, they could've done it a long, long time ago."

Ruby tilted her head in thought, somehow making her frown lopsided. "Now that you mention it," admitted Ruby, "they haven't teased us for a while. I thought it was because they realized how annoying it was getting."

Daniel leaned his chin on the backs of his hands. "You might want to bring it up with your teammates," he advised. "If there's something going on, you might as well find out as soon as possible."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks, Daniel!" she exclaimed, giving him a tight hug from across the table.

Daniel just chuckled as he awkwardly patted her on the back. "Alright," he chided. "let's get this stuff done first." With that, they proceeded with their schoolwork, the atmosphere a lot lighter and less tense than before.

As Ruby left the library two hours later, she couldn't help but mull over what Daniel said from before. Were they hiding something from her, she wondered. As she stepped into their room, she noticed it was eerily quiet for their team. Usually, Weiss would be fussing over their schoolwork as Yang would laugh and continue to mess around, interrupting her concentration every half an hour, and Blake would just be quietly reading a book on her bed, only the occasional page turn signifying that she was awake. Not now, though. That evening, the three were all on their beds, facing each Ruby with a surprised and concerned look. "Guys," Ruby spoke tentatively, "is there something wrong?"

When no one spoke, Ruby got more anxious. "Yang, are you guys hiding something?" she implied.

Yang rapidly waved her hands in front of her. "No, no, no," she denied, "we aren't hiding anything."

Ruby didn't believe her which made her crestfallen. Yang never, ever in their lives lied to Ruby this blatantly. "Yang, stop lying!" she shouted with tears in her eyes, "Why are you guys keeping secrets from me!"

Yang looked around the room, desperate for anything to cover up their problem. She looked at her teammates who gave her no help; they were lost in their own trains of thoughts. She stared at the homework laying on the desk, the calendar, and eventually the floor. "I'm a horrible sister," she mumbled. As was loathing lying to her sister, Ruby followed her gaze everywhere and put two and two together.

Yang expected a lot of things when her sister finally figured it out. What she didn't expect was for Ruby to squeal in delight and rush over to give her sister a ginormous hug. "Oh, Yang," she exclaimed, her voice muffled by Yang's shoulder, "you shouldn't have!"

Yang blink at her sister, her face blank. "What?" she asked in disbelief. Her teammates also looked at the interaction with confusion.

Ruby smiled at her friends. "Come on, Yang." Ruby giggled, "You don't have to keep acting dumb. I know what you're doing!"

"You do?" Yang parroted.

Ruby smiled widely. "Of course, silly!" she jibed. "You're planning a surprise party for me!" So apparently, Ruby didn't put two and two together, but rather three and three.

"We are?" Blake and Weiss repeated, eyes wide in surprise.

Yang glanced at the calendar again, and her brain short-circuited for a few moments; her sister's birthday was a week away, and she didn't notice. "Dang it!" she complained, exaggerating a bit too much, "It was supposed to be a surprise!"

Blake and Weiss then narrowed their eyes at Yang. "Wait, what?" they questioned, completely unaware of the situation.

Yang gave a forced smile to the two girls. "Come on, guys," she chided, "knock it off. The jig is up; Ruby found out about the party."

"Party?" Ruby squealed, her arms trembling with excitement.

"Party?" Blake and Weiss mimicked.

Yang gave her teammates a small look that spoke volumes. " _Play along._ Or else."

"Oh, fine." Weiss drawled with a small sigh. "I guess we can tell her now."

Ruby rushed over to give her a tight hug. "Aw, guys!" she squeaked, "You shouldn't have!"

Weiss gave her a half-hearted frown and pried her partner off of herself. "Get off me, you dolt!" she ordered. Once she was out of the iron trap that was Ruby's hug, she huffed, "Why not invite Team JNPR over today to discuss your birthday? I think they would like to be a part of your birthday."

Ruby beamed at Weiss. "You mean, like a sleepover?"

Weiss's brows knitted in confusion. "When did I ever imply that it was-?"

"Sure, Ruby." Blake interrupted, giving Weiss a pointing look, "It will give us more time to discuss what we should do for your birthday."

Ruby's arms shot up in the air, shouting, "Yay!" Her teammates couldn't help but smile at the small girl being this excited. "Hold on." Ruby started, "I'll go tell them right now!" Being the speed demon that she was, her body was out the door and in front of their roommates' doors in an instant.

When Ruby was out of earshot, Weiss and Blake turned back to the older sister. "What did we just do?" Weiss asked.

"I think," Yang said, unblinking, "Ruby may have just thrown a surprise birthday party for herself."

Meanwhile, in Team JNPR's room, their days were winding down as they relaxed after another week in school. Ren was meditating with Nora right beside him, trying and failing to copy his serenity. Jaune and Pyrrha were studying on their plethora of subjects when they heard a knocking on their door. Confused at who it might've been, Pyrrha answered the door to find a hyperactive Ruby bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Hello, Ruby." Pyrrha greeted politely, "Do you need anything?"

Ruby gave Pyrrha a large grin. "Yep!" she replied, "I'm gonna have to need your team come over to our room tonight for a sleepover. We're discussing my birthday party, which I hope you know about!"

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "Ruby," she started, "I don't think we knew-."

"Hey, Pyrrha?" Jaune intervened, "Mind if I take this one?" When Pyrrha stepped back and gestured towards Ruby, Jaune took that as his cue to take her place at the door. "So, Ruby," he started again, "mind telling me how you know about this alleged birthday party when it's supposed to be a secret?"

Ruby gave him a small smirk. "I may have had some help with Daniel," she responded.

"And, when's your birthday, exactly?"

Ruby smiled. "Next Saturday," she answered.

Jaune tried not to show the surprise on his face. "Does Yang want us to help plan your birthday at this sleepover?"

"Yep," Ruby responded.

"One last question: does Daniel know about this?" Jaune asked with a small smirk.

Ruby froze at this. "Umm… not yet?" she half stated, half questioned.

Jaune laughed at this and turned to his teammates. "Hey, guys." he shouted, "You wanna have a sleepover at Team RWBY's?"

Nora popped out of her "meditation" and jumped on Jaune's back like a little kid. "Can we? Please, please, please?" she asked ecstatically.

Pyrrha came back into Ruby's view, smiling at Nora's behavior. "I don't see why not." she stated, "Ren will probably come along with us once he's done meditating."

Ruby smiled. "Great! So, meet us in our room in about 15 minutes." she insisted, "Meanwhile, I'm gonna have to make a call to someone. Okay, bye!" And Ruby sped off, closing their door with a slam.

Pyrrha turned to her partner. "Why didn't you mention that we had no idea it was her birthday?"

Jaune sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "When you live with seven sisters, you pick up on these things really quickly. If Yang has something to keep from Ruby knowing, it's best to let her sort it out by herself."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "Why would you think she has something to hide?"

Jaune snorted. "Like I said," he repeated, "living with 7 sisters makes you pick up on a few things."

Ruby found Daniel wandering the hallways back from the training arena. "Hey, Daniel!" Ruby greeted with a small wave.

Daniel smiled back. "Hey, Rubes!" he responded, "So, you figured things out with your team yet?"

Ruby gave him a thumbs up. "Yep; they wanted to throw me a surprise birthday!"

Daniel's eyes widened in shock. "Your birthday's coming up?" he half asked, half shouted.

Ruby nodded. "Yep," she said, popping the 'P', "Next Saturday, in fact."

"Well, that's half of the mystery solved." Daniel pointed out, "But why were they staring at me all week?"

Ruby shrugged. "Probably because you would tell me as soon as possible." she assumed with a small smirk.

Daniel put a hand to his chest, letting out an exaggerated gasp. "You don't think I could keep a secret?" he accused mockingly.

Instead of the usual response, Ruby wanted to drive the nail home. She lowered her head slightly with a coy and sad look on her face. Giving Daniel her best pout, Ruby asked in a sniffling voice, "Would you keep secrets from me?"

Daniel just stared at the pouting figure in front of him for a few seconds. "Yang was right." he proclaimed, "I would've broken in under two seconds flat."

Ruby smirked deviously. "Yep." she quipped, "You can't keep a secret."

"Can too!"

"Cannot!"

"Can too!"

A few seconds later, Ruby and Daniel were found on the ground in the middle of the hallway, rolling around and laughing uproariously. Once they calmed down, Daniel brushed a tear away from his eye. "So, what do you want for your birthday?"

Ruby tapped her chin in thought. "Hmm," she hummed, "I don't know yet. Oh, by the way, we're having a sleepover with Team JNPR tonight! Want to join in?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow at her. "You're having a sleepover with 9 people in a room built for 4." he pointed out.

Ruby sobered up at that fact. "Oh." she acknowledged.

Daniel ruffled her hair. "Hey, don't sweat it." Daniel paused, "You know, you guys could hold it in my room. It's almost empty except for an empty bookcase, a desk, and my bed, since, you know…. my friends."

Ruby nodded. "That could work. I'll ask my team first. Do you want to come with?"

Daniel waved her off. "Nah, I'll probably have to tidy up a bit before you guys come. See you in five?"

Ruby smiled as she walked away. "See you in five," she confirmed. It took a few seconds for her to realize a flaw in their plan. "Wait." she pondered, stopping in her tracks. "Where's your room again?"

"A floor above yours, Room 313," Daniel responded.

"H'okay!" Ruby said as she kept walking, a small skip to her step.

"Well, time to hide basically everything I own in the closet." stated Daniel as he trekked back to his room.

When Ruby entered her room, she saw her teammates dressed in their everyday sleepwear (every-night?): Blake and Weiss in their nightgowns and Yang sporting an orange and yellow t-shirt and black shorts.

"Alright." Yang exclaimed, cracking her knuckles, "Let's get this party started!"

"Not yet!" Ruby blurted, digging for her own sleepwear. Once she was dressed, she gathered a pillow and one of her room's sleeping bags. "Alright, now it's starting!" she announced, starting to walking out of the room.

"Hold on." Weiss called, "Where are you going?"

"To Daniel's room." Ruby answered, not noticing Yang's not so subtle glare."

"And why would you go there when there's a sleepover being held here?" Weiss questioned with an eye roll.

"Because this room's not big enough for nine of us. So, we decided that-."

"Hold on." Blake interrupted, "Nine? Who's the other person, and who is this 'we'?"

Yang's eyes widened in realization. "Ruby, did you invite Daniel to this?"

Ruby blushed lightly. "Maybe?" she answered.

The rest of her team groaned. "Great. Just great." Yang exasperated, "We can't stop you from going on with this, can we?"

"Nope." Ruby quipped. She opened the door to leave their room. When she opened the door, Team JNPR were outside, each holding a sleeping bag bundle. Jaune was in his classic bunny onesie, Ren was dressed in a much more comfortable pajama version of his regular clothes, Nora had on a 'Boop' t-shirt and pink shorts, and Pyrrha had on a red nightgown similar to Weiss's. "Change of plans!" Ruby stated, walking past the four, "Meet us in Room 313."

Jaune turned to the three girls in the room. "Umm," he said, "who's room is that?"

Yang replied, "Daniel's." Noticing Jaune's forming smirk, she added, "And don't think about it like that, idiot!" She then followed her sister to the stairs, her teammates trailing closely behind her. Weiss turned around and gave team JNPR a small shrug before continuing on their way.

Jaune turned back to his team with a smirk. "Who thinks this was Ruby's idea?" he asked.

Pyrrha giggled slightly. "Well," she offered, "when you put it that way…" Pyrrha just smiled and went with the others.

Nora caught up quickly, a bounce to her step. "Isn't this exciting?!" she asked, "It's our first double team sleepover! I mean, since Daniel's here, it's technically three teams… But does one-person count as a team? I mean, a team is supposed to be a bunch of people, and since it's one person-."

"Nora," Ren interjected, "we get it. Let's just call it a 'two team plus one sleepover'."

When Team JNPR opened Daniel's door, they were greeted with quite a sight. In the far corner of the room, Ruby was jumping on Daniel's bed gleefully, apparently having unending reserves of energy. Blake was perusing through Daniel's bookcase on the opposite wall, ordering them according to her preference. Yang and Weiss were setting up the sleeping bags, lightly arguing about where to put them (Weiss did most of the arguing; Yang was just having a blast, looking at the different shades of red Weiss's face was turning). Daniel, wearing a plain black long-sleeve and red cargo shorts, just sat at his desk placed at the foot of his bed with his head in his hands, muttering about why he suggested this idea and how his room was cleaner before Team RWBY came.

Nora squeaked in delight and joined Ruby, jumping on the bed with as much enthusiasm. Ren chuckled softly while walking over to try and calm his childhood friend down. Jaune sighed with a smile still present on his face, helping Pyrrha set up their own places to sleep. When they were finished, the floor was littered with eight sleeping bags and pillows, the exhausted bodies of Ren, Nora, Ruby, and Daniel, and various board games that the three teams dug up from their closets. "So," Daniel started, "has anyone even been to a sleepover before? I have no idea what I'm doing."

In unity, Ruby, Yang, Nora, and, surprisingly, Jaune all raised their hands and echoed, "Yep." A few heads were turned towards Jaune in suspicion (Gee, I wonder who could it be *Cough, cough, Weiss). "What?" exclaimed Jaune. "Seven sisters" was his only explanation, which actually made a decent amount of sense to the others since they all nodded in understanding.

"Anyways," Yang continued, "what do you guys want to do first?" She pulled out a variety of different of board games. "We've got… who brought these games here? These are for five-year-olds!"

"Hey," yelled Jaune, "I resent that!"

"You brought chess! _Chess!_ To a sleepover!"

"Hey, chess is a blast! How am I supposed to know what you guys do at your sleepovers!"

Yang let out a disappointed sigh. "Well, at least we have _good_ classics like Spin the Bottle," she said as she took out a metal canteen with the Beacon logo on it.

As she set it in the middle of the circle of friends, Daniel just stared at the bottle blankly. "No." he proclaimed.

"No?" Yang echoed, "Why not?"

Daniel looked up at her. "Because there're three guys and six girls here. Odds are that it's gonna be extremely weird, uncomfortable, and half of us won't be able to look at each other for a good week-and-a-half."

Yang smirked deviously. "That's the plan!"

Daniel sighed. "Whatever," he said with a small wave, "just make it quick."

"Umm," Pyrrha interjected with her hand raised, "what's Spin the Bottle?"

The rest of the group turned sharply toward her. "Wait, you don't know what Spin the Bottle is?" Nora clarified.

Pyrrha blushed in embarrassment. "No?" she responded.

With that, Nora burst into a long and drawn out explanation of, what she called, 'The Rules and Science of Bottle Spinning'. As Pyrrha slowly became more and more confused when Nora began to talk about mass displacement and torque of the bottle's center of mass (she started to understand that Nora didn't even know half the words she was spitting out [ **AN: neither do I** ]), Jaune pulled her aside with a much simpler explanation. "One person spins a bottle, and whoever the bottle points to in the end has to kiss the person that spun."

With that explanation, Pyrrha started the first round. Before her hands touched the bottle, though, Ruby called out, "Hey, no cheating!"

Pyrrha looked at Ruby in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Ruby pointed at Pyrrha accusingly. "No Semblances, only destiny guides the bottle," she said in a mystical voice.

Daniel sighed as he pulled a random plastic sports bottle and replaced the canteen with it. "There, satisfied?" he exasperated.

Ruby lowered her hand with a smile. "Yep." she approved.

With a devious grin, Pyrrha once again placed her hand on the bottle and spun it. The nine watched it make a full rotation. Then another. And another. It eventually slowed to a halt pointing to… Daniel. Daniel just sighed, got up from where he was seated, and just walked out. From outside the hall, they could hear him shout, "This is why I hate this game!" His friends just burst into laughter at that comment.

When he came back, Daniel's mouth was stretched into a small, thin line as he walked in. Without a word, he stood next to the sitting Pyrrha and gave her a small peck on the cheek. "Wuss!" Yang shouted teasingly.

Daniel gave Yang a small glare as he went back to where he previously sat. "Alright," he seethed, "who's turn is it?"

Nora smirked. "It's your turn, silly! Don't you know the rules?"

Daniel sighed. "As long as it isn't Jaune or Ren, I think I can handle it." Daniel slapped the end of the canteen and watched it spin. Apparently, some higher being (AN: Me) wanted him to have a horrible life, and it ended on Yang. Yang looked up at Daniel with a smug, Cheshire grin as Daniel, once again, got up and headed for the door. "Nope, not handling it."

Pyrrha, deciding to go along with Daniel's psychological torture, used her Semblance and motioned for the door to close and locked the doorknob. Without losing stride, Daniel just put his hands in front of him, a familiar blue light emitting from his palms. When they made contact with the door, the wooden surface crumbled and spread out so it looked more like a double-door than a single one. As he sulked away, the eight people in the bedroom lost it, rolling on the floor at Daniel's expense. "Okay," Yang managed between gasps, "who rigged the bottle?"

"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha asked rhetorically, taking off a small, metal chip she placed on the bottle the first time she spun. "I'm shocked you would accuse us like that? Have you no shame?" This brought another bought of laughter from the friends as Pyrrha beamed at them.

Daniel came back to the room, noticing the bottle was placed aside while the everyone but Ren excitedly planned Ruby's party. Well, Ren was excited by his standards, but he managed to hide it well. "So," Daniel heard Weiss speak, "We're holding it in Daniel's room since our rooms are too cramped."

Daniel threw his hands up in exasperation. "Apparently my room doesn't require my opinion!" he broke in as he repaired his mangled doorway.

"Oh, it probably does." Yang commented, "We just chose to ignore it for now. So, Daniel, now that you're here after your unexpected departure," Yang smirked as she ducked Daniel's wing that was supposed to cuff the back of her head, "can we use your room for the birthday party?"

"Well since you asked so nicely." Daniel sassed, stressing each syllable with a tilt of his head. He then shrugged and responded, "Sure, it also means you've technically invited me to Ruby's birthday."

"Drat!" Yang exclaimed, looking over that detail.

"And it looks like Weiss has influenced Yang slightly." Blake pointed out dryly.

"What are you talking about, Blake?" Yang asked with an innocent smile, "I think I'm Yang-ing on to my beliefs. Xiao Long have you thought about this?"

"I stand corrected." Blake declared with a small sigh and a shake of her head.

"So, back to Ruby's birthday." Jaune suggested, "Cake type?"

"Chocolate," Ruby answered immediately.

"Balloons?" Jaune asked, rapid-firing his questions as he typed their responses on his Scroll.

"Definitely not," Blake said with a slight shiver ( **AN: Cat racism. Sorry** ).

"Activities?"

"Keep it simplistic." Weiss instructed, "Cake, presents, and maybe dinner out in the city."

"Sounds good." Commented Jaune, "Wow, you guys really thought this out considering it's all spur of the moment." Blake, Yang, and Weiss looked at Jaune imploringly and suspiciously, the others following their gazes. Noticing the dead silence from the three girls, Jaune looked up from his device to the stares of the rest of the room. "I mean," Jaune stammered, "you guys probably were too interested in keeping this a secret from Ruby than actually planning it, right?"

Most of the friends accepted this, but the three secret-keepers were still curious. "Yeah," Yang agreed reluctantly, "how'd you guess?"

Jaune chuckled weakly. "Well, having seven sisters really helps in a lot of things." he reasoned, "Not at being a Huntsman, but at a lot of other skills around the house – for example, party planning."

Jaune released a breath he didn't realize he was holding once Team RWBY looked at each other and shrugged. "Any presents you want in particular?" Jaune asked tentatively, keeping one eye on the three.

Ruby shook her head violently. "No, no, no, that's not how it works! You don't tell or ask what the birthday girl wants to get- it ruins the surprise!"

The rest of the night was spent debating over the finer details of the party and their insights on the upcoming Vytal Ball ("It seems too sophisticated for some of us." Weiss would argue). Eventually, Ren and Daniel suggested to wind down and finally sleep after a few hours of staying up- Daniel mostly hoped that his room wouldn't look so much like a mess in the morning. Ruby tried to be rather modest and sleep closest to the door, where most of the draft came through from. Daniel had none of it and gave up his perfectly comfortable bed to Ruby, stating that sleeping on a bed made his wings cramp. Though it still drew a few amused raised eyebrows from Pyrrha and Jaune and a small, suspicious glare from Yang.

For the rest of the night, everyone had a fitful rest for the weekend. Well, all of the but two. At about 2:00 in the morning, Daniel woke up with a painful throb in his side and his wing, but not by what he slept on. Turning to lay on his side (bad move on his part since it made him wince even harder), he saw the open door to his room with a figure just leaving his sight, unable to be identified by the briefness of Daniel's vision. Daniel looked around the room rapidly to see if anyone was missing, only for him to realize that his bed was devoid of any sleeping body. Quickly grabbing his and Ruby's unusually left behind cloak, he ran towards the stairs to catch up with the retreating figure. "Hey, Ruby." he quietly shouted, not wanting to wake up anyone in the other rooms, "You alright?"

When he didn't hear a reply as Ruby climbed the stairs, Daniel's eyebrows furrowed together. "Ruby." he hissed a little louder, "Rubes. Hey, Rubes." Apparently, repeatedly calling her name didn't work, as she promptly kept going up the stairs towards the roof. Racing to catch up, Daniel bolted out of the doorway to see Ruby halfway between himself and the edge of the roof, not slowing down whatsoever.

"Ruby!" Daniel repeated, standing in front of her and placing his hands on her shoulders, "What's wrong?" Then, he noticed the expression on her face. Ruby's eyes were closed, her expression neutral, but tears streamed down her face as she pressed her lips together tightly, making a small straight line. She shrugged Daniel off and kept walking towards the edge of the roof, stopping barely a hair's length away.

"Ruby?" Daniel called out again, stepping closer to the sleepwalking figure. Without warning, Ruby collapsed on her knees and pitched forward. Right off the edge.

Without a second thought, Daniel dashed over and barely managed to grab ahold of Ruby's slim fingers, his own balance being thrown off as he overshot and also started tilting dangerously over the side of the roof. Only his steady footwork kept him up long enough to buffet his wings hard enough to pull himself back on the steady ground with Ruby. By the time she was laying on the ground, Ruby awoke and started tearing up. Looking at Daniel who was still breathing heavily, her bottom lip quivered, trying to hold back sobs. Daniel was lying next to Ruby, trying to give her a smirk to add some levity, even though he was breathing hard from the sudden rush of adrenaline. "We really have to stop meeting like this," he stated.

With that, Ruby broke as she collapsed into Daniel's chest, letting loose strangled sobs. Daniel uncomfortably shifted his body so his left hand propped his body, and Ruby's, up as his other hand slowly pulled Ruby's hood over her head and fastened the small chain hooking it together. His hand then traced small circles on her back comfortingly. They stayed like this for a few minutes as Ruby bawled all of her tears, soaking Daniel's shirt thoroughly. Once it was over, Ruby wiped her eyes as she pulled back. "Sorry for getting your shirt wet," she apologized in a timid voice.

Daniel frowned at this as he half dragged, half walked Ruby over to sit by the shed-like structure that housed the door back inside. Wrapping his arms around her torso, Daniel guided Ruby to sit in his lap while enveloping her in a tight hug. "Getting my shirt wet is the least of my problems." he assured Ruby, "Come on, what's wrong?"

Ruby melted and curled into a small ball, leaning her head against his chest. "I don't know what you're talking about." she denied weakly, "I sleepwalk a lot. This one just went too far."

Daniel let out a dry chuckle without humor. "Don't play this with me. I've had the same thing happen to me. What was the dream about, or rather, the nightmare?" he prompted.

Ruby stayed silent for a few moments, debating whether or not to tell Daniel as she squirmed in his hug. "My mom." she finally said, "I dreamed about how… how my mom left me."

Daniel winced but nevertheless gave Ruby a small squeeze of comfort. "Thought so." he said with a grimace, "I thought you might've lost someone like me."

Ruby buried her face into Daniel's shirt, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Mom was a Huntress." Ruby explained, "She was the best mom in the world, but no matter what, we always knew something might happen to her. We just didn't realize how soon." A few beats of silence passed. Then, "Did you lose anybody you loved?" Ruby implored.

"What?" a startled Daniel asked.

"I don't mean your team." Ruby divulged, "You definitely cared, for them, but if you never lost someone you loved, you've never actually felt empty. For days, weeks, and months, I felt like a piece of me was ripped away, like if you guys all just decided to leave, but worse." Ruby looked directly into Daniel's red and blue eyes. "Are you sure you've lost someone now?" she reiterated caustically, bitter that Daniel still had his full family.

It took Daniel a full minute to try and gather his emotions under control as he tried to find something to say. "Yes," he admitted.

Ruby looked up, perplexed. "What?" she asked.

"You're not the only one who's had a family member die on them," he replied sourly.

Ruby nuzzled her head even farther into Daniel's body as Daniel tightened his hold. "It gets tiring when people say I'm sorry," Ruby admitted.

"It really does," Daniel agreed.

A pause. Then, "I'm sorry," Ruby sympathized.

"I'm sorry, too." Daniel echoed, resting his chin on Ruby's head. "How'd she die?"

"She went missing in action." Ruby explained, "Mom left one day and… never came back." By this point, Ruby was close to crying again, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

Daniel noticed this and gently kissed the top of Ruby's head. "I know how it feels." he confided, "Did I tell you about my dad and my sister?"

Ruby nodded her head. "That's not the same." she argued, her voice muffled by Daniel's shirt, "You can see them at any time."

Daniel chuckled darkly. "Yeah, I did say they split up from us. What I didn't say was how." Ruby sat back up straight, still in his arms, and stared into Daniel's eyes imploringly. "The reason my mom and I moved," he continued bitterly, tears brimming his eyes, "was because we were raided. By the White Fang. It didn't matter that my mom was a faunus; when a human's in your family, those guys don't care. My dad held them long enough for my mom, my sister, and me to run away, but someone snuck up on us and shot Holly. Since then, I…" he ended, trailing off as his throat started choking with sobs.

Ruby returned Daniel's prior gesture by holding him as close to herself as possible while Daniel poured all his tears into Ruby's shoulder. It took another couple of minutes before either of them could speak without breaking into a fit of sadness. When Daniel was finished with his tears, he still didn't pull away from Ruby's shoulder and instead snaked his arms around Ruby's back. "There." he said dryly, "Now you don't have to worry about ruining my shirt."

Ruby couldn't help it but quietly chuckle. "Of all the things you could say, you had to go with teasing me about that comment, didn't you?" she muttered teasingly. Gradually, the two of them started laughing softly. Small laughs eventually broke into rancorous fits of giggles as they held each other with happiness gleaming in their eyes.

After a while, Daniel tiredly slumped against the wall. "We're insane," he commented dryly with a chuckle.

Ruby leaned on the wall a few inches away from Daniel. "You might be insane," she teased, "but I'm not."

"You tried to walk off a roof!" Daniel shot back lightheartedly.

"Eh." Ruby murmured, her eyes starting to close, "Let's ignore that part."

Daniel smiled softly at her. "Fine." he conceded, rolling his eyes.

"Keep rolling them." Ruby sassed, noticing his small smirk, "You might be able to find a brain back," Ruby stretched her arms as her mouth widened in an enormous yawn, "back there."

Daniel blatantly ignored the comment as he walked about five or so feet away from the wall. He placed his hands on the ground, using his Semblance to create a small wall just to his shoulder level if he was standing. Then, he billowed out his cloak and turned into a hammock, just large enough to accommodate two people ( **AN: You know where this is going** ). "What are you doing?" Ruby asked drowsily, trying to blink sleep out of her eyes.

Daniel's reply was to gently press a finger to Ruby's lips, effectively silencing any attempts to speak. He then, without warning, tucked his arms underneath Ruby and carried her bridal-style onto the hammock. Ruby mumbled out a drowsy thanks just before she heaved a great yawn and pulled her cape over herself like a blanket, turning away from Daniel. When suddenly, she felt a shift in the hammocks balance. Looking back, Ruby saw Daniel carefully climbing into the hammock with her. "You know we're going to get teased from dusk 'til dawn tomorrow, right?" she asked while cuddling with Daniel.

Daniel stifled a yawn as his arms snaked around Ruby's torso, his wings once again covering their bodies. "Better than having you wake up as a mess in front of Yang," he gently mused. Ruby barely heard the last sentence as she was already asleep by the second word. Daniel smiled sweetly as he closed his eyes and basked in the starlight with a beautiful girl now resting with him. Ruby's slow and melodic breath tickled Daniel's neck as they felt each other's heartbeats.

" _Yep, I like him._ "

" _Yep, I like her._ "

 **AN: And that's a wrap for chapter 10! Hey guys, Fireflame. Again. So, here's a quick announcement about the poll. I'm going to collect and end the poll in 2 chapters. You hear me? 2 chapters until you decide on where to go.**

 **Ok, I have to address this one guy. So, there's a Guest that's apparently destroyed my reviews, giving me half of the ones I currently have. If you have a name that I could use, just tell me in your next review or PM me. Also, your theories. They're just small theories: a Story Theory! Thanks for reading! No, but seriously, you don't know how close you came to a few of those conclusions. First, thanks for the info on "The Queen". I'm not taking much from Season 3 onwards, so she's going to be different, and not the actual Canon one. Second, Splinter Cell White Fang Group? Close, not extremely close, but no cigar. Third, Holly and her dad joining the White Fang? Shot down! Also, for character deaths, I only know the ones who are going to be actually prevalent in this story. I can probably extend that list to Team JNPR, CFVY, Taiyang, Qrow, most of the adults, but that's about it. The only reason Mercury was on that list was because I couldn't find a good way to kill him of potentially. Well, not anymore! He's off the list! Want to know why some people are on the list and some aren't? It's because not for plot line or character growth, but because I'm the author. (Insert evil laughter here).**

 **Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! If you enjoyed it, feel free to follow, favorite, review or all three. This was a bit out of my comfort zone, so I hope it was good. Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	12. Chapter 11: Blender of Emotions Oh Joy!

**Hey, guys! So, I know it's early, but like I've said before, I have a LOT of stuff I'm going to be going to in October, so I wanted to get this out as early as I can so I don't forget it. Sadly, I'm only uploading one chapter next month. Hopefully the new season coming out is gonna quench some of your guys' thirsts. Season Four HYPE!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, just the brain that writes these ideas down.**

Chapter 11: Birthday Party! (You're Gonna Hate Me)

Daniel woke up to the sound of birds, chirping overhead, with the sun just rising right above the horizon, coloring the sky brilliant shades of red, orange, and violet. He, unwillingly, opened his eyes to be greeted with a sight of a mop of dark brown hair. Daniel smiled softly and ruffled the figure's hair, making her sigh and nuzzle her own cheek into his chest. Daniel's smile brightened as he closed his eyes once more. " _Maybe another few minutes._ " he thought to himself, laying his head back on the hammock.

A few minutes passed before a small yet hard object poked Daniel in the shoulder. Daniel just grumbled and turned his back towards the direction of the prod, bringing Ruby with him, who promptly drew her cloak over herself like a blanket, as he whipped his wings backward to hit the offending prod. " _Stupid birds._ " he mentally complained. Seconds later, a fit of giggles made him groggily open his eyes and turn around. " _Wait, please don't let it be…_ "

Sadly, it was. When he turned back, Daniel saw a madly giggling Weiss that was struggling to stand up since she was laughing too hard. Daniel's eyes shot wide open, and his gaze quickly flicked from Ruby. Back to Weiss, and again to Ruby. Without waking Ruby up, Daniel frantically waved his arms, trying to deny what Weiss was seeing.

"You really have to stop proving our points." Weiss teased quietly, "Otherwise some of us might think you actually like Ruby."

"Yeah, yeah." Daniel quickly brushed off, "Now, is it possible you could ignore us for a few more minutes so I can make a getaway?"

"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that. Yang's livid, trying to find her 'missing sister'. Hey, Blake." Weiss called down the stairs, "You remember what happened last week during Professor Goodwitch's class?"

It was barely a few seconds before Blake came racing up the stairs, sporting an impish smile and a mischievous twinkle in her eye. When she noticed Daniel's predicament, her grin only grew wider. "Shall I grab the camera?" she suggested jokingly.

"Now is not the time for jokes!" Daniel hissed. His chest rumbling made Ruby frown and stir, making Daniel freeze in fear. When she once more went back to the realm of dreams, he let out a sigh of relief. Turning back to face the two girls on the brink of hysterics, Daniel urged, "Guys, you've gotta get me out of here before Yang-."

"Before I what?" Yang's voice rang from the staircase. As her footsteps echoed closer and closer, Daniel just looked up to the heavens and closed his eyes, accepting his fate. When Yang turned to find her sister cuddling with a person she met maybe a month ago, Yang promptly stormed her way towards the pair, murder evident in her eyes. When she was within a few steps away from him, Daniel held up a finger, making Yang halt in confusion, expecting an answer. Daniel just pointed at the sleeping Ruby, using his other hand to put a finger to his own lips. Yang rolled her eyes but followed Daniel's advice. When he noticed that he wasn't immediately punched, Daniel slowly got out of the hammock, without disturbing Ruby besides his lack of presence, and stood in front of Yang defiantly. "What." Yang growled, "Do you _think_. You are doing…. with my _sister_."

Daniel gulped, feeling the aura of malice surrounding Yang. But, he still stood his ground, evenly stating, "Ruby had a nightmare in the middle of the night, and she banged the door against me when she left. She came up here as a sobbing mess, and I helped comfort her."

"And _why_ wasn't I involved?" Yang questioned sharply.

"Because you'd probably do this." Daniel reasoned, "It was either let Ruby vent out her problems here, with me, or let her stay with you, that would probably whisper empty promises in her ear."

Yang glared at the crow faunus furiously. "How'd you come to that conclusion?" she snapped.

Daniel evenly looked into Yang's blazing eyes. "How's Ruby's mother?" he asked nonchalantly.

All of the wind was taken out of Yang's sails as her mouth flapped open and shut, trying to cope with the surprise she felt. "How did you-?"

"I noticed the signs when she was crying." Daniel answered, "She's not the only one that lost someone close to them." His tone died down and grew bitter by the end of his response.

When she came up the staircase, Yang's first emotion was panic that her sister was missing. It quickly turned to hatred when she noticed Ruby sleeping soundly with Daniel, and it did a complete 180 when Daniel told Yang his reason for not telling Yang. Now, all she felt was pity, embarrassment, and still a pinch of hatred for not being informed as she was being chewed out by Daniel. "Daniel, I'm sor-."

"How long?"

"Sorry?" Yang asked, taken back.

"How long have Ruby's nightmares been going on?" Daniel repeated.

Yang remained silent for a few moments, staring at the ground. Then, she responded quietly, "Years."

Daniel cursed quietly. "How frequent were they?"

"It's less frequent now- maybe once a month," Yang answered.

"Once a… How is that better!?" Daniel's voice grew louder and louder by the second.

"It used to be once a day, then a week, and now it's a monthly thing!" Yang argued.

"It should be a yearly thing!" Daniel shouted back, ignoring the looks of shock from Yang's teammates, "This should only happen on the anniversary, no other time!"

"How should you know?" Yang shot back, seeing red, "Your teammates died just a month ago!"

Yang quickly found a stone knife pressed harshly against her windpipe, not yet drawing blood. "You talk about them like that again," Daniel whispered, his head lowered and hands trembling slightly, "I wouldn't be that bothered to press just a smidge harder."

Yang's breath hitched as she stared at the dagger. "L-let's not be too hasty." she stuttered.

Daniel's eyes bore into Yang's with a deadly glare. "Like how you were so hasty to bring up my team?"

Recovering from their shock, Weiss and Blake rushed over to try and pry Daniel away from Yang, or vice versa. When they laid hands on him, however, the pair immediately recoiled their hands like they were touching a hot stove, feeling a weird and unpleasant sensation on their hands as Daniel's darker, black aura flared. When they looked down at their hands, skin had started to die off, turning pasty white with decay, making their palms pale and dry while also steaming.

Noticing their looks of pain, Daniel cursed quietly and pulled the newly made knife away from Yang's throat, letting her take ragged gasps of panic. Dropping his weapon, Daniel walked over to Weiss who flinched when approached. Daniel just rolled his eyes and took her hands in his, using his now blue aura to slowly strip away the dead skin and heal what remained. He did the same with Blake's hands a minute later who mumbled out a small thanks before taking a deep breath and turning back to Yang. Daniel opened his mouth to continue to rant, but a small voice rang out behind him that made him freeze in his tracks. "Daniel, Yang, what's wrong?"

Daniel turned to see Ruby sitting up straight, looking at the four of them with big, rounded eyes of startling silver. Fear and shock prominent in her pupils. Daniel sighed and responded, "Ask your sister." With that, he turned to leave. As he stood at the top of the staircase back down, he called back, "I'll get my cloak later." in a downcast voice.

When Daniel was out of earshot, Weiss made her way back to Yang and roughly smacked the back of her head. "What was that?!" she exploded, "How could you mention his team in such a devastating way?"

"I…" Yang started, collapsing to her knees as she realized how enormous the mistake she just made was, "I... I'm sorry." she whispered, tears brimming her eyes.

"Yang? What did you do?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

Blake responded on Yang's behalf, her voice laced with not anger, but disappointment. "Yang here decided to, understandably, confront Daniel when she noticed you two were… well, cuddling," she said while her mouth twitched in amusement. Her amusement ended there. "Daniel explained how you had a nightmare and asked about how you were handling your mom's… departure and things escalated from there, ending with Yang calling out about Daniel's deceased team." She ended her small explanation with a brief glare in Yang's direction.

Ruby jumped up from the hammock and raced over to give her older sister a hug. "I'm sorry." she apologized, "I should've told you where we were, and none of this would've happened."

Yang was now openly weeping. "No, I should be sorry. I was the one that took things too far. I just can't stand Daniel and you rushing around without us. I'm your sister, for Pete sake!"

Weiss grimaced at the raw emotions the normally upbeat fiery blonde was showing. "Alright, I supposed I snapped too early when you made those comments," she confessed.

Ruby turned to Blake who held her hands up in a surrendering gesture. "I didn't have anything to do with this besides a bit of teasing." Blake defended.

Yang sniffled. "You think I can make it up to Daniel?" she asked Ruby.

Ruby nodded. "It might not be instant, but he'll forgive you," Ruby assured. Then, she remembered the person that just left the roof. "Oh shoot, Daniel!" she shouted, speeding down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Team JNPR were still searching for the 'missing' teens. When they heard the shouting, the four of them rushed up the stairs towards the roof. When they were on the flight of stairs leading towards the roof, the four of them saw Daniel sulking as he walked down at a snail's pace.

The four of them kept climbing the steps, and near the top, they heard Yang in an uncharacteristically somber tone, "You think I can make it up to Daniel?"

Team JNPR all shared a glance of skepticism before they heard Ruby continue, "Oh shoot, Daniel!"

When they noticed the red-cloaked reaper speed past them, Jaune couldn't keep a smile off his face. "Not gonna try to jump to conclusions," he started playfully, "but I think Ruby might've left with Daniel during the night."

Nora pushed her teammate up the stairs, which effectively made Jaune trip and fall, barely catching himself with his hands at the last second. "We're getting an exclusive!" she announced, "Quick, interview the suspects!"

"The suspects are downstairs." Ren pointed out.

"Then we'll go with the next best thing!" Nora shouted while kicking open the door to the roof. She opened her mouth to start throwing around random comments when the sight of a crying Yang and melancholy teammates. "So," Nora drawled, "what happened?"

"Yang got defensive of Ruby and her past when she found out she had a nightmare, and Daniel told her off since he knows what happened." summarized Blake.

"Oh." Nora breathed, "Ok!" With that, the redhead skipped back down the stairs to get some much-needed breakfast.

Nora's companions, however, weren't as quick to be appeased. "Yang," Pyrrha began, "what did you do to Daniel? He was sulking quite hard when we found him."

Yang stayed silent for a few moments, tears dripping onto the backs of her hands. "I accidentally brought up his team." she blurted, "Needless to say, it didn't go well."

Pyrrha frowned at this revelation. Before she could speak, Ren, surprisingly, spoke up: "You should go apologize to Daniel. Without forgiveness, there cannot be acceptance."

Weiss nodded at the advice. "Ren's right." Weiss agreed, "It's mandatory that you ask Daniel for forgiveness, or else you will just drive the wedge between you, Ruby, and Daniel even farther than it ever should go."

Yang nodded in acceptance. "I'll talk to him as soon as I can." she avowed. With that, she stood up with red, puffy, bloodshot eyes, but with a burning determination to them. "So, anyone know where he could've gone?"

Her friends all shook their heads. "Sorry, the person that knows him the best already left to comfort him," Jaune stated.

Yang let out a groan. "Great. Just great- it's going to be a long week then."

And Yang's prediction came true. When she went to question her sister, all Yang found was a note on her bed stating that Ruby would be staying with Daniel, even becoming his unofficial partner. So, that ruled out their best source in an instant. Any attempts to try and call Daniel's Scroll were sadly and blatantly ignored, even if they were being sent just a few feet away from him. During every meal, Daniel was missing from any conventional place to eat, including the roof. Any notes she passed to him during the various classes were thrown away as soon as they reached his desk. Even if Yang tried to corner Daniel in a classroom, he would always find a way to get out, even if that meant turning a portion of a wall into a new door back to the halls. When they were outside of class, Yang checked all the places he could be- the library, his dorm, the training arenas, the old-fashioned restaurant he usually went to, even the cherry-blossom that Ruby took him too after the Breach yielded no results or gave clue to where he went. It was like he appeared in Beacon to learn and then disappeared when his classes were over. At the same time, Ruby was essentially like Daniel's shadow- following him wherever he went and disappearing with him as well.

After two days, Yang had enough of his disappearing act. As the day's combat class ended, Yang made her way to Daniel and hoisted him up by the collar of his shirt. "You. Me. Eight 'O'clock tonight on the roof. Be there, or we're having a rematch- this time without your Semblance." Yang threatened. When she dropped him, Daniel made no sign of even being bothered and calmly packed his things to leave. When he didn't even acknowledge her existence as he walked away, Yang's heart plummeted, just now feeling the full effect of how hard she divided them and dissolved their friendship.

At 7:59 that night, Yang was sitting on the edge of the roof, looking over Beacon's campus. She sighed as her legs swung to and from in the open air, desperate that Daniel would show up and listen to her. A minute later, the door to the roof creaked open, and Yang turned around so fast she got a whiplash. Daniel stood in the doorway in his combat clothes, his cloak billowing behind him. As he walked towards her slowly, Yang jumped up and rushed over to give him a tight hug, but stopped in curiosity when Daniel stretched out his hand and presented a slip of paper. Yang took the small sliver and unfolded it to read the message. She had just enough time to read, " _You wanted a rematch, right?_ " when Daniel's fist connected with her cheek, forcing her backward, a little too close to the edge for comfort.

Yang tenderly touched her hand to her cheek which was already being healed by her Aura. But, the damage was done. "You don't want to do this." Yang cried out, trying to convince herself more than Daniel. When Daniel just ducked down into a crouch, Yang halfheartedly readied herself in a fighter's stance.

"On the contrary." Daniel said with a feral grin, "I've wanted to do this for a few days now."

Not anticipating having to fight one of her friends, Yang didn't bring her signature gauntlets up to the roof with her and stood knuckles bare, waiting for Daniel to make the first move. When he charged her, Yang moved over to the side like a matador, eyes widening as Daniel went a bit too far and toppled off the edge. Peering over the side in horror, that horror soon turned to shock as Daniel shot up with his wings and gave her a nasty uppercut under her chin, sending her flying next to the wall.

Daniel touched back down on solid ground and slowly made his way towards Yang, nursing her jaw. Her blood was on fire, pumped with adrenaline, but with nothing in her way she wanted to punch, all that fire stayed trapped inside. Yang got up a second before Daniel reached her, and when he swung again, Yang ducked and grabbed his forearm, pressing him against the wall while locking his arm behind his back. "I just wanted to talk!" she cried, trying to get Daniel to see reason.

Daniel chuckled darkly as he swung his wings back, giving Yang a mouthful of feathers. As she was spitting them out on instinct, Daniel wiggled free from her grip and swept her feet from underneath her. As she crashed onto the ground, Daniel reeled his foot back and swung it into Yang's stomach. The wind thoroughly knocked out of her, Yang propped herself up on her knees and elbows, coughing up a fit. "Like you wanted to talk about my teammates two days ago?" he asked menacingly, "I'm not falling for that again." Another kick to the stomach made Yang flop to the side. "I guess that's it then."

Daniel turned to make his way for the door, but a hand on his ankle stopped him in his tracks. Turning around, he saw Yang, still on the ground, but with her head bowed in a sign of submission. "I'm sorry." he heard Yang apologize in barely a whisper.

Daniel sighed as he stood there, waiting for Yang to elaborate. When a few seconds passed without any follow-up, Daniel grew impatient. "Well?" he snapped.

Yang sat on the backs of her heels as she continued to stare at the ground. "I'm sorry for judging you and your team." she apologized somberly.

"Damn right you are." Daniel criticized harshly.

Yang bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to shout out a comeback. "I just want to see my sister safe." she managed out in barely a whisper.

Daniel scoffed. "Nice job at that," he remarked.

"Dammit, Daniel!" Yang shouted, still not meeting his eyes, "I'm trying to say I'm sorry! Can't you at least hear me out?"

The silence that followed was deafening. Then, Daniel called, "Go on."

Yang sighed. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you when you were comforting Ruby." she continued, "It just that… I'm her sister; I'm supposed to be the one looking out for her. Add that to the fact that it looks like you're taking advantage of her… well, you get the idea."

Daniel nodded in reluctant agreement. "I can see why you want to help Ruby," he stated, "but that doesn't explain why you were so quick to point fingers."

A moment passed before Yang answered, "Ruby told you about her mom, right?"

"Yep," Daniel replied.

"Well, after Summer, her mom, died, our dad just… fell apart. Ruby was in constant denial and had dozens of nightmares every week, and my dad sunk deeper and deeper into depression. Needless to say, it would've been a shitty childhood if my Uncle Qrow didn't help us out- our dad basically never worked, so I had to make some of the money. I was also the one that looked out for Ruby. I essentially became her mom: giving her bedtime stories, cooking for her, making sure she had a decent life.

"Now you see why Ruby's this important?" Yang looked into Daniel's eyes, tears starting to form at the edges of hers. "She's my sister, but she's also my world." she ended in a whisper, "I can't lose her to something this stupid."

After a few tense heartbeats, Daniel sighed in relief. "So you are telling the truth," Daniel said with a smile.

"Of course I was." Yang snapped, "You're an ass, leading me up here just to fight me for something that I could've just said. Now since I answered your questions," Yang shot to her feet, standing just inches in front of Daniel, "you're going to answer mine."

Daniel sighed before leaning against the wall. Yang sat across from him, her glare seemingly penetrating Daniel's soul. "Ask away." Daniel decided with a gesture.

"What do you think about Ruby?"

Daniel chuckled, humor barely coming into his silent laugh. "Straight to the point. Alright, I see how it is- trying to pull the 'big sister' sort of interrogation."

"Just answer the question," Yang commanded.

Daniel looked up to the night sky, staring at the dozens of stars visible. "What I think about your sister…" he pondered, "Well, for one thing, Ruby's probably the most awkward person I know besides Echo."

Yang's glare intensified. "Not helping," she commented.

"She's a great teammate and a sweetheart." Daniel continued, "Ruby's a child at heart, but that just makes her so much better to talk too; she's never down and always helps me through tough times, even if the time I've had with her is short. She's sweet, kind, uplifting, and, I'm sorry, Yang, but cute as well. Sure, she's easily flustered and a bit thick-headed at some points, but Ruby's always a great person and an even better friend."

Yang had tears streaming down her eyes, but these were out of happiness and content. "Yep, that's Ruby." she choked out, "Always worming into strangers' hearts for no apparent reason." Yang started wiping her tears away, sniffling every few seconds.

"I'm sorry I did this to you." Daniel apologized sheepishly.

"Damn right you are," Yang muttered. "Playing with my emotions like this." she jokingly jeered.

"You know; this was actually Ruby's idea," Daniel stated.

"She, she what?" Yang shouted, perplexed.

"Yeah. Turns out she's not as sweet and innocent as you think." Daniel stated with a laugh, "She thought you would lie just to get me away from her, so, and I quote, 'This way, we'd know if you were being truthful and sincere'."

"Speaking of Ruby," Yang brought up, "where is she?" When Daniel remained silent, sheepishly rubbing his head while smiling, she demanded, "Where's Ruby?"

"Calm down, Yang." Ruby's voice was heard from just off the roof. Yang turned to the edge of the roof to see Ruby jump up from one of the trees nearby onto the flat surface. "I was here the whole time." Ruby then turned towards Daniel. "Nice job blaming me for everything! I never told you to be that harsh- it was just to make sure she was telling the truth, not make her crazy with worry!" she scolded him.

Daniel smirked in her direction. "As long as I don't die by Yang's hands." he reasoned.

Then, with another moment's thought, Ruby looked at Daniel with hopeful eyes. "Did you really mean it?" she asked, "About what you said about me?"

Daniel walked over, smiling, and stood in front of Ruby. He tenderly brushed his hand against her face. "Every word," he assured.

It was too much for Ruby as she melted in Daniel's palm, eyes fluttering. Ruby wrapped her thin but firm arms around Daniel's neck as he snaked his own around Ruby's waist. The pair stayed like this, rocking back and forth slowly, as Yang awkwardly shuffled her feet. On one hand, the scene was too adorable for anyone to bear. On the other hand, this was her sister she was talking about, and Yang hated to see Ruby grow up as she, well, grew up. Yang coughed, drawing the pair's attention. "So, are we cool?" she asked tentatively.

Daniel rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. Taking one arm off of Ruby's side, he beckoned to her to join in. "Come on," he suggested, and Yang happily obliged, joining into the hug as a tangled mass of limbs. "I still need air," Daniel complained, wincing at how strong Yang's hug was.

Ruby let out a small, muffled laugh from Daniel's chest. "Don't worry." she started, "You'll get used to it. Hopefully." There was a moment of serene silence. Then, "So, does this mean you won't kill Daniel on sight anymore?" Ruby asked Yang, half teasing but partially worried.

It was Yang's turn to roll her eyes. "No, I won't threaten Daniel anymore." Then, an impish grin donned Yang's face. "I can't say the same if he makes it to second base." she teased.

Daniel let out an exaggerated sigh. "And there goes the moment," he announced, feigning disappointment. The two sisters couldn't help but laugh at this.

"You know it!" Yang stated happily, reaching up and ruffling Daniel's hair.

Even though Yang had already pulled away, it took Daniel and Ruby a few more seconds to let go of their embrace, something Yang didn't have any trouble using as ammunition to the two "lovebirds", in Yang's terms. "I'd love to keep watching you make fools out of yourselves," Yang quipped, drawing a small blush from Daniel and Ruby, "but it's getting late, and I want my sister back. Speaking of which, where did you sleep anyway?" she inquired, directing her attention to Ruby.

"We stayed at Team CFVY's room." Ruby explained, "Apparently, Coco decided to take me on a couple of shopping sprees." she ended in an annoyed tone.

Yang slapped her forehead. "The one team I forgot to ask!" she berated herself.

Daniel chortled. "Don't worry, you wouldn't have gotten anything from them- I told them not to breathe a word to anybody," he explained.

Yang couldn't help but shoot back, "On a scale of one to ten, how bad was their teasing compared to us?"

Daniel let out a harrumph. "Compared to yours? Eight. In general: ten since Fox decided to join in on the action."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "It was horrible," she stated dryly. With that, the three teens shared a few more jokes before setting off to bed, content how well they had reconciled their bonds.

 **xX-Line Break-Xx**

With that crisis averted, the three friends finally were able to speak to each other without being at each other's throats every few seconds. Sadly, Team JNPR, RWBY, and Daniel all had another thing to worry about: presents. With Ruby's sixteenth birthday coming up, the eight of them wanted to make the day the most special in her life. So, the friends searched up and down Vale for the best gift for their youngest member.

Yang combed through shelves upon shelves inside various stores to find that one perfect item. Upon seeing a scrapbook, though, she realized that it'd been in front of her the whole time. Why not give her something to remember about one of the most impactful things in her life? Yang cut her budget short and bought a few simple things, and then she started going around Beacon to find a few… select individuals. ( **AN: If you think I'm giving away what they're going to buy right now, you're dead wrong. "It ruins the ruins the surprise!" I quote Ruby, who said it in my story.)**

Blake, meanwhile, decided to ponder on what to give Ruby before heading out and spending days searching for her gift. At first, it was hard to decide on what she really enjoyed. Ruby enjoyed being a Huntress, but that was mostly a fairy-tale view on things, trying to put a black and white line on what's Good and Bad. That narrowed down her list to a few things: baked goods- which Blake had no experience in except for stealing a few during her time in the White Fang, weapon essentials- but Ruby had almost all of it covered, something that reminded her of her friends- which Blake assumed one of the others had covered, and the last thing that Blake decided to settle on. A subject Ruby and her shared in common. And she knew exactly which items to choose to fit Ruby's taste.

Weiss embarrassingly admitted having never been invited to an informal birthday party. For her, it was mainly more sophisticated and formal than what a normal birthday should be like; the birthdays she and Winter received were not for their close friends- as their father rarely let them out from under his eye long enough for them to make any. No, it was instead restricted to mainly family members and people with a high enough social standing to gain an invitation. That's why it was so important for Weiss to make Ruby's birthday one of the most special occasions. Knowing all of this, Weiss still went with her roots and stood by her decision to give her partner something close to Weiss's heritage, but as a different gesture.

Jaune had a very, _very_ vague idea on what to buy for a lady- usually flowers, a nice gift close to the heart, or some clothes that they'd always desired. But, with Ruby, only one of those choices were suitable for her: a gift close to her heart. Problem was, Jaune didn't know that much about Ruby to give an accurate present that she could identify with. After conversing with Yang, though, he discovered something that she held dear to herself. Jaune wrote about half a dozen letters out to various people, hoping to get a response or gift that he could use for the girl's birthday.

Nora barely wasted a day to find what she was searching for. For her, it was found in the first store she went into and bought just a few minutes later. The gift was more of a joke than an actual gift, but those two things weren't so different in Nora's eyes.

Pyrrha was probably the one that had the hardest time finding a gift for the young leader. She had the same problem as both Weiss- with her only experience of birthdays more formal than anyone else besides Weiss, and Jaune's as well- with the idea of barely knowing her enough to give her a present that suited her personality. She realized, though, that Ruby had probably the exact opposite childhood as her own: a less than stellar income, treated as different due to her age rather than skill, free-spirited and childlike, and no pressure pile on to do well in life- just self-determination. So, Pyrrha decided to give Ruby something from her own childhood, in a sense of drastic contrast of giving Ruby something that was completely out of her element.

Ren had some experience with the type of gift he was going to give Ruby; living with Nora throughout his childhood prepared him to gift things a bit too childish for his own taste. So, going down the list of what Ruby loved and enjoyed wasn't too hard. In the end, he settled for a gift that kept on giving.

I take that back, Pyrrha didn't have the hardest time finding Ruby a gift. Daniel did. He didn't really have to search Vale all that much to find the perfect gift. Rather, it was harder to come up with the design rather than the materials, as he could turn anything into whatever he desired. He was trying to give a person he met just recently a gift that outshone even her sisters; needless to say, he was a bit stressed out, juggling ideas, designs, and materials all at the same time. He then realized- assumed, to be honest- that Ruby might look down at whatever Daniel had given her since she knew that Daniel could make virtually anything at will. So, Daniel thought of an idea and gesture that would completely blow Ruby away. Or, it had the potential to make Daniel be ground to fine powder. Either way, he needed some advice first.

It was the Friday before Ruby's birthday. Everyone had finally found their perfect gifts; the last of Jaune's mail was coming in, Yang was finalizing the touches on her present, and the rest were wrapping theirs neatly. Everyone, except Daniel. It was that night, however, when Daniel sprung his plan. Overhearing Yang talk about hitting the training rooms after dinner, Daniel volunteered to be her spotter, just in case something went wrong. In actuality, he was hoping for a chance to talk to her in private.

After Yang was finished with the sparring bots and weights, she sat on a bench right outside the room, taking deep breaths in between swigs of water. Daniel calmly sat next to her, twiddling his thumbs. A few seconds went by, then, "Alright, why are you here?" Yang asked abruptly.

Daniel looked up in surprise. "Hmm?" he hummed, pretending to be confused.

"I could've asked Blake to spot for me, and she wouldn't have said no. So, I'm asking again: why are you here with me, right now?" Yang ventured further.

Daniel sighed. "I wanted to ask you something. About Ruby's birthday." he conceded. It took a few moments before he could muster up the courage to ask what was on his mind. Yang rolling her hand in a 'go on' fashion made Daniel take a deep breath and ask…

 **-xX-LINE BREAK SNITCHES-Xx-**

A few minutes later, Yang walked into her dorm room, the rest of her teammates already there. Ruby looked up from her notes and textbook and gave her sister a raised eyebrow. On her face, Yang was wearing her biggest and brightest grin to date. "Yang," Ruby began, "should I be worried, scared, or happy that you're this… excited?"

"You should be happy." Yang answered, "Extremely happy." Her smile never wavered in the slightest.

Ruby hopped down and shook her sister roughly by the shoulders. "Who are you and what have you done to Daniel?" she demanded.

Yang laughed jubilantly and hugged her sister tightly, almost knocking her off her feet. "Gah, Yang. Air!" Ruby choked out.

Yang lessened her hold but still kept Ruby trapped in her arms. "Relax, Ruby." she chided, "Daniel's fine. He just wanted to ask me something."

Ruby let out a gasp. "You mean… he asked you out?" she asked, scandalized.

Yang took her hands back and looked at Ruby in a condescending manner. "Oh for the love of…" Yang exasperated. She sat down on the foot of Blake's bed, head in her hands. "Ruby," she continued about a minute later, "I love you, you're a great sister, but you can be one of the densest and most idiotic people I know."

Ruby narrowed her eyes in befuddlement. "What does that have to do with anything?" she challenged.

Yang groaned. "Ruby, a few days ago, we were at each other's throats." she stated, "Now, why would Daniel ask someone that he hated half a week ago out on a date?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know." she admitted, "Maybe he wants to make it up with you- who knows?"

Yang was now curled up into a ball, her arms wrapped around her knees as she rocked back and forth, barely holding onto her sanity. "Ruby, this has gone from disappointing to depressing way too quickly." Yang croaked.

"What did I do?" Ruby asked in a loud voice.

"Oh, you complete and utter imbecile!" Weiss exploded, rubbing her temples to try and cure a forming headache, "He likes you, you dolt! Why would he ask out Yang when she's your sister?!"

"Ooooh. Now when you put it that way…" Ruby mused. A collective and impressively deep sigh sounded through the room as the other three girls sank into their seats a little farther, much to Ruby's chagrin. Ruby frowned. "Guys, I'm new to this!" she defended.

"Not a very good excuse," Blake remarked, gesturing to herself and Weiss who nodded in agreement. "You're talking to two others with almost no relationship experience."

"Fine." Ruby conceded, laying back on her bed, completely drained. "Alright, lights out!" she announced, clapping twice.

 **Hey guys, Fireflame here. Ok, first: poll status. Beach and Cherry blossom are tied at 3, and the Hot-air balloon is in second with 2 still. Not really an update, but still something.**

 **Anyways, to this chapter. Sorry if I made Daniel a bit like an arse in this chapter. This was basically the only way I could make Yang confess without having some sappy, dumb, cliche branch off- and if you know me, you know I despise dumb cliche knock-offs. Ok, I despise certain cliche knock-offs with a passion; the others are fine. If you guys wanted more action, don't worry, it's coming. I just need to build up a few more details and fill a few more plot holes.**

 **Now, feedback. Bzgrel: Thanks for the compliment! To be frank, though, I didn't want to make it 100% sweet. I'm going to try and make a balance between horror/sadness with adorableness.**

 **Ok, the big time spender: Apolios aka. my amazing guest. You, sir, thank you. First, sorry I'm not sorry about killing another character. And really? Is my story a happy place? Since when? Can I please direct you to Chapter 3? And yeah, it's basically how I imagined how Holly died. The surprise party: 'nough said. So apparently, it sounds like you want me to do something cliche, right? Ok, Ruby and Daniel kill all the evil throughout the land and are worshiped as gods- the end. Sound good? No? Thought not. That's why I hate complete rip-offs that ruin the original, amazing story.**

 **Complete chocolate cake for Ruby? We'll see. Probably not, since her favorite food's strawberry, but we'll see... By the way, I'm glad you understand, fellow psychopath. (Sociopath?)**

 **I finally get the pleasure of saying "YOU'RE READING INTO IT TOO MUCH". The dream was supposed to be similar the start of the Red Trailer, but that works too. And for the wings? Daniel can fly, as seen in Chapter 5. There's a much simpler reason on why he doesn't; I forget he has them half the time. Thanks for the insight on the hammock, I do try my best. YES PRAISE MY NAME... to nothing- I don't have that big of an ego.**

 **I'm going to say it again: only Blake and Adam have broken off from the White Fang. There's no splinter cell group, no revolution inside a revolution (though that's a cool idea), no nothing. Don't say the teachers are minor characters: Oobleck and Zwei. The perfect team.**

 **So, apparently, you want some more action. I get that, but it's really, really, REALLY out of my comfort zone. I've tried to do some research in basic combat and in Daniel's abilities, but that's it- the basics, nothing else. Also, if I'm sounding like Daniel's just a master at everything since he can make anything, I shouldn't. You ever heard of the phrase "Jack of All Trades, Master of None"? That's basically my point. He's proficient in a bunch of fighting styles (except the scythe), but in a straight on skill battle, he's bested by basically anyone in his age group. That's why he lost hand-to-hand combat with Yang, going to lose sword vs. sword against Weiss, Pyrrha, and Blake, and get wiped by Ruby in scythe vs. scythe. His arsenal and skills are so vast, though, that it's sort of made up in the sense of covering each weakness as best he can.**

 **Ok, later chapter predictions from Apolios. These are all POTENTIAL, not 100%. (Yes, I know the feedback segment is long. This guy's just insane, and I WILL answer any reviews I get.) I won't POTENTIALLY kill Blake in the way you described- that's just dumb. You're not entirely wrong or right in Weiss's potential fate. For Daniel taking over the team... that's way too close to the truth than you think. Yes, Daniel will eventually join a team, but Ruby's not going to turn into that OP character you imagine. Sorry, it's just not going to happen (you should know that if you know what the title of this story means). Oh hey, I could kill off someone like Cardin and make you guys hate me more, or I could just stick with my plan of letting you despise me. Either way, I'm preparing for a personal apocalypse. The queen pieces in initiation? *Waggles eyebrows but sweats on the inside since I hadn't thought about that. I will say this: the character that is the most likely to be considered The Queen at the end of Season 2 IS the Queen in this story (gee, I wonder who).**


	13. Chapter 12: Happier Moments

**Hey, guys! Fireflame here. So, just a quick second on the polls. THEY ARE DONE. I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT _ WINS!**

 **Now that that's done, I can get onto the thing that's been sitting on my chest. I lied: I told you guys I would only post a chapter this month. Guess what? You guys game me an incentive to post a new one. WE HIT 10K VIEWS and over 50 followers! So, surprise! I honestly didn't think we would surpass 9k by half-way through my story, and I still have about 7 months of writing left.**

 **I forgot to mention the sort of muse for this and why I'm writing this story in the first place. A few reasons: One. I dedicate this story mainly to a person in my class, Kaylee. The reason will come next chapter with the actual content. Next, I'm sadly dedicating this story to two different bets. One friend bet me that I couldn't write a story that actually moved them emotionally since I'm supposed to be pretty bad in Honors ELA. Another person bet me that I wouldn't keep this up. Well, guess what? I am. I planned for this to go on for a year, and I'm still making more plans. Oh, there's also The Fault in Our Stars that inspired me, but not in the way you think. I was determined to write a story better than that- I have a resentment for that book. Anyways, that's about it for my small rant.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY. That right goes to the Rooster Teeth people in Texas, and I definitely ain't from that region y'all. It ain't a thing.**

Chapter 12: Surprising Revelations and Happy Times

The following morning, Ruby woke up to an empty dorm room. Puzzled, she walked around the room, trying to find any clues on where her teammates could've gone. When she passed the mirror, though, she turned back around to see a note. Reaching out, she realized there was no note on the mirror: the note was on her forehead, being reflected by the mirror. With an embarrassed red face, Ruby peeled off the sticky note and read that her friends were waiting by the airships for her.

With newfound happiness, Ruby got dressed and made her way down to the air docks. When she arrived, she saw her friends in their regular clothing, crowding around a bench off to the side. Team RWBY and Daniel were sitting on the bench while JNPR was leaning against the back of it. "Hey, guys!" Ruby greeted with a wave.

The eight friends looked up from their conversation and smiled at Ruby as she approached. "Hey, Rubes!" Daniel said first. The rest of them followed with their own version of greetings shortly after.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ruby asked, sitting on the arm of the bench.

"We're waiting for you." Yang answered, "It is your birthday, after all."

"Aw, guys." Ruby said with a blush, "You shouldn't have."

Daniel blinked. "We shouldn't? Ok, I guess I'll just return the hot-air balloon I borrowed," he replied sarcastically.

Ruby grabbed the collar of his jacket and dragged him down to eye-level. "Don't you dare," she growled.

Daniel silently laughed at Ruby's expression. "Like I said," he reiterated, "you can't pull off that look." referencing Chapter 6.

Ruby let out a small harrumph as she let go of Daniel's collar. "Fine, I guess you should have bothered," she stated.

Straightening out his jacket, Daniel jumped onto the airship that was soon leaving with the others following behind him. As they flew out to Vale, Ruby had to ask, "What did you guys plan?"

"Right before we're getting lunch-." Jaune started.

"Lunch?" Ruby repeated, "But… it's still morning. Right?"

Yang laughed at her sister's comment. "We tried to get you up right as breakfast rolled around- didn't work, obviously."

"You should've tried harder!" Ruby complained lightheartedly.

Weiss raised an eyebrow at her partner. "We did everything besides actually shooting you to try and wake you up!" she chided, "Why do you think there's a black mark over your bed! Or that your bed had water dripping from the sheets?!"

Ruby blushed. "Because you guys missed?" she answered timidly.

The rest of Team RWBY consecutively facepalmed as Daniel and Team JNPR all laughed at her response. "Well, anyway," Pyrrha continued, "back to the schedule. After lunch, Daniel gladly rented a hot-air balloon for us to sightsee Vale from 'his point of view'. Next is supposed to be a lunch at somewhere. After that, we decided that we wanted to try out the fair going on for the Vytal Festival. And then, a dinner at your place of choice sounded nice."

Ruby smiled impishly at Daniel. "First old-fashioned diners, now hot-air balloon? Really? What are you, old?"

"What are you, short?" Daniel shot back without a second thought. Then, after thinking about it for a second, Daniel donned a lopsided grin. "Sorry, that was uncalled for," he said, his tone indicating he wasn't sorry at all.

"I'll have you know," Ruby said seriously as the rest of her friends were cracking up, "I. Drink. Milk."

"Not enough, by the looks of it," Daniel said, trying to maintain a straight face. As soon as the last word came out, though, the group broke into rancorous fits of laughter, drawing more than a few questioning and judgmental looks from onlookers.

Ruby groaned and slammed the back of her head into the padded seat. "Great way to start my birthday," she commented sarcastically.

Daniel chuckled as he sat next to her. "Aw, don't be like that." he chided, ruffling her hair.

"Okay, now you've crossed the line, mister!" Ruby cried out. The others had a blast as they watched Ruby start to chase Daniel around the airship, both of them laughing like they were 7-years-old.

When the ship finally touched down, the nine of them got off and made their way to their first destination, led by Daniel. As they chatted away, Ruby realized where they were going. Turning sharply towards Daniel, she asked, "Are we going to the-?"

"Shh." Daniel chided with a playful gleam in his eyes, "You're not spoiling it for the others." The 'others' all turned to Daniel questioningly, making him shrug in response. "You'll see when we get there," he said.

When they reached the site, the nine's attention wasn't focused on the large basket that was going to somehow fit the nine of them, or even the flattened out cloth that would hold them aloft. Instead, they started to admire the scenery as the sun rose on the horizon. Since autumn had come late, the cherry-blossom that sat at the top of the hill started to lose the brightly colored pink and white leaves that gave it its glamor and beauty, but it didn't mean all of its colors were entirely gone.

Most of Team RWBY and JNPR gasped in awe while Ruby and Daniel smirked at their responses. "Wow." Pyrrha breathed, "It's… it's so beautiful. How did you find this place?"

Daniel blushed as his expression turned sheepish. "It was the first place I met Ruby." he answered, "Well, technically the second place, but I'm not taking my girlfriend to a graveyard ever again."

The other eight turned at the 'G' word, most of them surprised, smirking, and or elated. Daniel, oblivious to what he said, looked back at them, bewildered. "What?" he bleated, "Was it something I did?"

Weiss's smirk just grew in size. "Did you just call Ruby your… girlfriend?"

Realization set in. "No, no, no." Daniel denied, "It's not like that, it just slipped from my mouth. Yeah, just a slip of the…" he tapered off. Seeing that he wasn't fooling anyone, he sighed. "Well, there goes my surprise."

"Surprise?" Ruby squeaked, "Did you want to ask me to… you know…"

"Ask you on a date?" Daniel clarified, "Yeah, I was going to later tonight." Licking his lips in nervousness, Daniel implored, "Would you have said yes?"

In response, Ruby clasped his other hand in hers and stood on her toes to lightly peck him on the lips, drawing a few goofy grins from her friends and especially from Daniel. "Does that answer your question?" she teased slyly.

Daniel donned a stupid, ear-to-ear grin as his hand came off of Ruby's and onto her waist. "It'll do for now," he announced formally, a hint of mirth peeking out from the seriousness of his voice.

"Finally!" the others shouted in unison. As the now official couple turned around, blushes radiating from their faces, Nora chimed in, "We were going to have a bet later today on if you would ask her out, but I guess that's not needed anymore."

Yang couldn't help but point out, "You know, you've slept with my sister more times than you've taken her on a date." This made the rose tints in Daniel and Ruby's faces deepen as their companions chortled (Weiss, though, look appalled).

"Wait, you're fine with this?" Jaune asked Yang, suspicious.

"Of course!" Yang answered, "Daniel mentioned it last night. That's why he's still alive as of this moment."

-xX-Line Break. Friday Night-Xx-

"I wanted to ask you something. About Ruby's birthday." Daniel conceded. It took a few moments before he could muster up the courage to ask what was on his mind. Yang rolling her hand in a 'go on' fashion made Daniel take a deep breath and ask, "Can I take Ruby on a date?"

Yang stared at him with a mixture of emotions. After a few moments, Yang sighed. "If I wasn't so tired, you'd probably have a small dent in your skull," she stated. Instead, Yang sat back on the bench, still looking at Daniel imploringly. "Why do you want to take my sister on a date?" she questioned.

Daniel chuckled as he as well sat back, resting his head against the frame. "Short version or the long version?"

Yang shrugged. "Just enough information to know about your intentions," she clarified.

"Where to start…" Daniel said to himself, "Well, first of all, it's her birthday tomorrow."

"Not a very good start," Yang noted, her tone getting just a tiny bit steelier.

"And it shouldn't have been." Daniel pointed out, "I haven't gotten to my good points. Now, where was I? It's her birthday, and because I actually enjoy it whenever she's around. She was the one that picked me up when I was down, she's been pretty possessive of me," he chuckled at that, "you've seen how we interact, and it's not like I'm asking her for a marriage contract or anything- she can stop it at any point. Also, if you're going to pull the older sister 'hurt her and you die' thing, should I remind you that this is Ruby we're talking about? I'm pretty sure she can handle herself from the likes of me."

Yang whistled in appreciation. "You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" she observed. When Daniel nodded in confirmation, Yang was able to relax in her seat. A few moments later, though, she had to ask, "That's not all, is there?"

Daniel shook his head, but not in denial. "I still don't understand how women do that. Even Echo had a sixth sense about this sort of stuff," he complained. Daniel let out a deep breath. "No, it's not all. Ruby already knows how easily I can make things with my Semblance, so anything I'd get her physically would probably be undervalued. Either it's store bought and not thoughtful to get for a girlfriend, or it looks like I'm just saving money by making it by hand."

Yang blinked at Daniel. "You're a real idiot, you know that?" she stated, deadpanning.

Daniel glanced at her in confusion. "What?" he asked.

"Ruby wouldn't care if you made it by hand." Yang explained, "Frankly, I wouldn't either. It shows you actually put time into making something special for someone's birthday. Who do you think made Ruby addicted to fairy tales?"

Daniel's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "You wrote a story?" he marveled.

Yang rolled her eyes mockingly, a small smirk forming on her lips. "Yep. Not really something I advertise, the fact that I'm actually a self-taught author. Don't try and ask for any copies, though." she said with some mirth, "It's a one of a kind book."

Daniel chuckled. "Getting back on track, will you let me go on a date with Ruby?"

Yang tilted her head, looking up in thought. "I suppose." she drawled, "You have good intentions, and you know the risks if you break up with Ruby. You break her heart, she breaks your bones, and then I'll break whatever I can. Sound fine?"

Daniel gulped, starting to fear for his wellbeing. "I'll keep that in mind." he insisted quickly.

Yang let out a genuine smile, void of any smugness or a threatening glare. "Good. I'm glad you know what you're getting yourself into. Now, come on." She wiped her hands on her shorts as she got up, "You should prepare for your date." she teased.

Daniel groaned slightly as he stood up. "This is the sort of treatment I'm going to get for the next week, maybe week and a half, right?"

Yang laughed as she draped an arm around Daniel's shoulders. "You're learning!" she chortled as the pair headed back to the dorms.

-xX-Line Break. Present-Xx-

"So, let me get this straight." Blake began right after Daniel finished his story, "Your incentive to ask Ruby out was… it wasn't a physical gift?"

Daniel rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Basically," he said, drawing a few snorts of laughter from the group.

"Well, you do know how to give a girl what she wants." Pyrrha teased, the rest joining in on her laughter.

"Haha, laugh all you want. But we're the first ones here to get a boyfriend or girlfriend." Daniel bragged, drawing Ruby in closer which drew a small smile to grace on his newly claimed girlfriend's lips.

"True. True." Pyrrha stated, "But you two also are the only ones that have tried in the first place."

"Well, I enjoy a touching moment as much as any other person," a voice was heard behind the nine friends, "but I'm really on a time limit."

The nine of them turned around to see a middle-aged man casually dressed in jeans and a buttoned-up red polo. "I'm sorry," Weiss started snobbishly, "but who are you?"

"Oh, shoot." Daniel said, slapping his forehead, "I forgot to mention: I can't really navigate and don't have the license to operate a hot-air balloon. Also, I couldn't do this without interfering with a few laws, so Mr. Greengrass has offered his help."

"Thank you then, Mr. Greengrass." Pyrrha thanked with a tilt of her head.

"It's my pleasure." he said, waving them off, "The company's been going downhill slightly, so I've had more time on my hands anyway."

"You said you had a time limit?" Ren interjected.

"Ah, yes." Mr. Greengrass remembered, "In any case, we have to be done in a certain timeframe so the people running the airships know what's going on. So, you all should hop aboard now." he suggested, beckoning to the large basket.

The nine of them got into the woven container, noticing it was divided into fourths. Ruby and Daniel were in one section (This drew even more smirks from the likes of Weiss, Blake, and Jaune), Pyrrha, Jaune, and Mr. Greengrass were in another section, the rest of Ruby's team was in the third, so that left Ren sharing with Nora.

As Mr. Greengrass was blowing up the balloon, Jaune had a sudden realization. "Wait, how high are we going to go?"

Daniel shrugged. "I honestly don't know, but we're going at least higher than the tallest buildings, including Beacon Tower."

Jaune turned a sickly pale, quickly becoming green. He sat in the corner of the basket, his head held between his hands and knees. "Oh no."

Pyrrha didn't know whether to grimace or smile at Jaune's anxiety. Instead, she decided to sit next to him, comforting him as best she could by throwing an arm over his shoulders.

As they started ascending, the others looked over the side in anticipation. Once they reached above some of the buildings, though, a few of them started to have second thoughts. Noticing their looks, Daniel said, "Don't look straight down- that's the dumbest thing to do in the air. Instead, look in the distance or the horizon."

Daniel's friends did just that, and many of them sighed in relief or gasped at the breathtaking scenery. To their left was an aerial view of the forest which they were launched into during Initiation. On their right were the beach and a crystal-clear ocean. In front of them was a stunning view of Beacon, and right below them was the grand city of Vale.

"Wow," Ruby breathed.

"That about sums it up," Daniel said, chuckling at the group's expressions. They started to slowly drift towards the forest as they ascended to the height of Beacon Tower. Nora was bouncing up and down in excitement. But, after explaining to her that her bouncing was going to destabilize the hot air balloon, Mr. Greengrass was able to get her under control. However, Daniel noticed another problem: a few of his friends were trying to peer around Daniel's wings, heads shifting back and forth like kids in a crowd. "I should probably get off- don't want to ruin the scenery for you guys," Daniel explained.

Pyrrha looked at him, confused. "But, how are you able to disembark at this height?" she asked. Daniel rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb in the direction of his wings. "Oh," she breathed.

Daniel let out a small laugh. Swinging a leg over the side, he hesitated after looking back at their small entourage. Then, with a sly smile, he hooked his arms right under Ruby's, drawing a small yelp from her. "I'll just take some excess weight with me." he chatted with a smirk. And with that, both of them went over the edge with Daniel yelling, "See 'ya on the other side!" as Ruby yelled bloody murder for Daniel.

"Ruby!" yelled Yang, quickly looking over the side. Instead of seeing two figures plummeting to their deaths, she saw a pair of crow wings attached to a smug teenager as he carried his girlfriend in his arms. Ruby's yells of murder and cries of anguish were replaced with gleeful yelps and 'wahoo!'s. Yang sighed, rubbing her face with her hand, yet a small smile formed on her face while watching the two play around, the pair of them circling around the underside of their transportation.

Fortunately, Daniel was able to carry Ruby for long enough to touch down on a small patch of sandy land between the beach and Beacon. Panting from the toll on his body, Daniel fell into a sitting position, his wings splayed out behind him. "So apparently I'm not as strong as I thought I was," he commented.

Ruby sat down next to him, avoiding accidentally injuring Daniel's crow wings. She leaned against his side, resting her head on Daniel's shoulder. Daniel, in response, nodded off to the side so the side of his head touched to the top of Ruby's. "That's why you don't kidnap people on their birthdays." Ruby chided lightheartedly.

Daniel laughed. "Lesson learned," he claimed. It was a comfortable silence that settled around them. At least, until Daniel spoke, "So, should we meet up with the rest now?"

Ruby groaned dramatically. "But… but it's nice here," she complained in a child-like manner.

Daniel smirked as he got up, much to Ruby's displeasure. "I think I know how to get you up…" Daniel claimed. Ruby looked at Daniel, skeptical. Without warning, Daniel raced off in the direction of the hot air balloon that was starting to descend. "Race 'ya!" Daniel shouted over his shoulder.

Daniel did get what he wanted…. to some extent. At the word 'race', Ruby shot to her feet, a competitive spirit brewing in her eyes. But, a second later, a voice was heard behind Daniel yelling, "Ah! Jelly legs!" Daniel turned around to see Ruby tumbling from using her Semblance, but her legs had a cramp from not being used for the past few minutes.

Daniel winced as he made his way back to the figure sprawled out on her stomach, her cape covering her head. As soon as Daniel knelt down to help Ruby up, though, she suddenly shot to her feet, giving Daniel a small shove to keep him off balance. "Gotcha!" she said gleefully, leaving him in the dust.

Daniel was on his feet in an instant while running to the red hood at full speed, a bright grin donning his face. "Get back here!" he demanded playfully as he gave a chase.

The others that took their time to ride on the hot air balloon finally settled down on terra firma. When they touched down, they saw Ruby running along the shoreline at full sprint (sans the Semblance), without a care in the world, resembling a pair of 7-year-olds. Her cape was flowing back in the wind, the widest grin spreading on her face as she laughed joyfully. Trailing just a few paces behind was Daniel, wearing a goofy grin as he chased Ruby. With a second wind, Daniel managed to catch up and tackle Ruby into the sand. With a yelp of surprise from Ruby, they both went tumbling right into the sea. Even though her clothes were sopping wet, Ruby couldn't help but sit up in the surf and laugh alongside Daniel who helped her up.

As the rest of their group got out of the air balloon's basket- Jaune was a bit green in the face, and the others had a hard time getting him out -, Ruby and Daniel were standing in front of the ride, sopping wet. "Seems like the two of you had a blast." commented Nora, "Why wasn't I in on it?"

Daniel slung an arm around Ruby's shoulders as she leaned into his side. "Boyfriend and girlfriend thing. Get your own." he shot back with a smile.

"Oh, sure! Ren could be the one that chases me. But, he's not my 'boyfriend', more like a boy 'space' friend, but that doesn't mean-."

"We get it," the rest of the group shouted in exasperation.

"By the bye," Daniel interjected, "how was the view?"

Weiss's eyes glazed over, a happy expression plastered on her face. "I will admit," she started, "it was rather enjoyable."

"Enjoyable?" Yang remarked, "It was amazing! The wind in your hair, the great view, and watching my sister getting thrown off the side was especially amusing to watch." she added the last part on sarcastically, simultaneously glaring at Daniel.

Daniel held up his hands in surrender, smiling nervously. "Surprise?"

"It was rather calming," Blake agreed before Yang could fire out a retort, "watching Vale pass underneath."

"Speak for yourself," Jaune said nasally, leaning on his thighs while panting.

Pyrrha reassuringly patted his back. "At least you didn't throw up." she acknowledged.

Mr. Greengrass came up behind them, laughing slightly at Pyrrha's comment. "And I admit that's sometimes a miracle. I've seen many people throw up off the side of the ride. So much so that I've developed a sixth sense for it." He slapped Jaune on the back, lurching him forward slightly. "Nicely done, young man." he congratulated.

"That's great and all," Ruby interrupted, "but how am I supposed to go about the day in this?" She gestured to her sopping wet clothes. She suddenly shook her head violently like a dog, spraying water around and making everyone jump back a foot.

In response, Daniel put an arm around her waist and a hand on her cape, activating his Semblance. For a few seconds, a bluish glow engulfed the pair, then disappeared as quickly as it appeared. When it died down, a large puddle was forming around the pair, but their clothes were relatively dry. This didn't, however, solve the fact that Ruby was shivering in the early autumn winds. "Maybe we should get something to eat. Somewhere preferably indoors?" suggested Daniel, bringing Ruby in closer without a complaint.

The others nodded in agreement. Saying their goodbyes to Mr. Greengrass, the nine of them set off into town. They wandered around town for a good fifteen minutes, rambling about whatever came to their minds and pointing out places to potentially eat. Halfway through their wander, Ruby started noticing the small glances teens and children gave them as they walked by. Some were subtle about it, but many couldn't help but openly point at the group and whispering to their friends. "Was that the Pyrrha Nikos?" she'd hear groups whisper over and over again. Then, noticing the girl in white, they would then whisper, "Hanging out with a Schnee?"

Weiss, indifferent to the looks, ignored them and put on a neutral expression. Pyrrha, on the other hand, put on a fake and somehow dead smile. The small curve of her mouth was present, but the edges of her eyes wouldn't crinkle or sparkle with the same fire. "I'm sorry," she apologized to her friends while waving to a group of onlookers. "I didn't think the gawking would be this bad," she said with a gesture to a group of boys looking head-over-heels for Pyrrha.

Jaune frowned at her comment. "You shouldn't be sorry." he insisted, "We all knew the risk of hanging out with you." Pyrrha gave him a genuine, pointed smirk. "Well, most of us," he clarified. Then, with a sudden stroke of genius (or foolhardiness), Jaune put an arm around Pyrrha's shoulders and drew her closer to the "knight in shining armor".

Yang let out a low whistle of appreciation. "Wow, look at Jaune." she exclaimed, "Getting bold, now, are we?"

"Can it, Yang." Jaune shot back lightheartedly. Now, the onlookers weren't directly pointing at Pyrrha anymore. But rather, at who she was apparently with. "I gotta say, though," he started, "I have no idea how you can stand all of this staring, Pyrrha."

"Oh, you get used to it," Pyrrha responded with a sigh.

"And it's probably going to get a hundred times worse." Yang reckoned, "I can see the headlines already: "The Invincible Girl and Her Knight in Shining Armor." A collective groan was heard, but the joke was still enough to draw a blush from Jaune and Pyrrha. "C'mon, guys." Yang complained, "It wasn't that bad."

"Despite your beliefs," Weiss said, rubbing the bridge of her nose with one hand, "it really was."

Meanwhile, Ruby started noticing that the stares were now being drawn to the group "The Great Pyrrha Nikos" was in. A vast majority of the teens were still staring at Pyrrha, her supposed "boyfriend" and Weiss, but a few gazes started sweeping over the rest of them. Most of these lingering gazes, Ruby noted, were being directed to the three males of the group. Ruby would shift uncomfortably when a girl would point at Daniel, giggling and whispering things to her own friends. Making up her mind, Ruby clasped a hand in Daniel's, weaving her fingers in with his. Daniel gave her a pointed look, raising an eyebrow. Eventually, he shrugged and walked along like nothing was wrong in the world.

"You know what?" Ruby asked suddenly, making the others stop in their tracks, "Why don't we just eat at the fair? We're supposed to be going there anyways." That wasn't the only reason eating at the fair was desirable, as the pointed look Ruby gave them explained. The fair was mainly aimed more towards the schools and festival contestants, so fewer people would be staring at the group.

The eight others, noticing the underlying meaning, looked at each other, confirming whether or not they all wanted to go. When a collective shrug or nod came a few seconds later, Ruby smiled. "Great! So it's settled. Onwards! To the Fair!" she ended in an extravagant manner. Ruby dragged Daniel and Yang along towards the fairgrounds, the latter trying to drag her feet as an attempt to make her sister slow down.

At the fair, the group of friends took most of the evening, exploring every centimeter of the grounds. Each booth was ordered randomly- you could find a Mistralian game booth, next to a jewelry display from Atlas, next to somewhere to eat with cuisines from Vale. Needless to say, the nine of them had the time of their lives that day.

"I now realize why you do not use a firearm, Jaune," Weiss remarked, looking cross with Jaune while holding her shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" Jaune sassed, "It was quite a shot."

"You managed to ricochet the pellet off of the back wall, the roof, and then a lantern and managed to hit Weiss in the shoulder." Blake reminded, "It was almost physically impossible to miss a target that big."

"Like I said." Jaune defended, "It was quite a shot." This prompted Weiss to punch Jaune roughly in the same spot she was hit, drawing a round of chuckles from the group and a wince from Jaune. "Am I wrong?!"

"Just stop talking." Daniel suggested with a small chuckle, "You're not going to make anything better."

"Truer words have never been spoken." Ruby agreed.

"Alright, the moment of truth," Yang stated suddenly. Ruby looked at her sister in confusion. "Where do you want to go eat for dinner?" she asked.

Ruby's grin broadened. "Is that even a question? Daniel can probably answer that."

The others groaned as Daniel laughed and hissed out a quick "Yes!" He ruffled Ruby's hair affectionately. "I knew I got you addicted to their shakes." Turning to the rest of the group, Daniel smirked. "Pay up," he demanded.

Ruby's eyes narrowed as money exchanged hands. "Wait, what?" she questioned.

Pyrrha answered in a slightly saddened tone as she handed Daniel a small note of money. "Daniel bet the majority of us that you would pick the exact place he predicted. Needless to say, Daniel won the wager."

Daniel riffled through the bills. "Well, I would like to thank all of you for chipping in to pay for dinner today," he said with a smile, holding up the miniature stack of money. "Okay, let's go."

It was almost 8:00 when they arrived at Annabeth's Diner. The first thing Ruby noticed that an entire corner booth of the diner had a rope across it, claiming it was "reserved for a celebration". In the booth were two familiar females, chatting away. She turned to Daniel. "You know me too well." she avowed with a smile. Ruby turned to the two girls in the booth and waved. "Hey, Coco! Hey, Velvet!"

The two girls of Team CFVY looked up at the group and smiled. "'Sup, Little Red?" Coco shot back. "C'mon!" She said, patting the seat next to her, "Have a seat, birthday girl."

Even with a larger booth and when Ren compromisingly pulled up an extra chair, the eleven of them still had a tight squeeze, all trying to fit into an area meant for nine. To solve it, Daniel plopped Ruby onto his lap, drawing a blush from her while Coco's eyebrows shot into her hairline. Coco let out a low wolf-whistle while putting her shades up. "Getting pretty bold there, aren't 'ya, Daniel?" she remarked, "I mean, she apparently isn't your girlfriend." Her point was emphasized as she not so subtly tilted her head towards Yang's direction.

Daniel snapped his fingers in thought. "Oh, that's right." he recalled, "We haven't made it public yet. Well, better fix that."

A Velvet's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Fix what?" she asked.

"This," Daniel answered vaguely. Then, he planted a long but chaste kiss on Ruby's lips, giving Velvet and Coco a good sightline to what was happening. When they pulled away, the pair of them were grinning giddily. "So, Ruby." Daniel started with a formal tone, "Would you kindly accompany me on a date? The one that Yang permitted?"

Ruby giggled silently. "Why, of course, Mr. Gotzon," she replied in the same manner as Daniel's question.

Velvet's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and Coco was still trying and failing to pick her jaw up off the ground. In a spontaneous change of events, Coco slapped Daniel's back, laughing. "Nicely done." she congratulated, "I knew you had it in you."

"Well, congratulations, you too." Velvet spoke, "Here." She started to bend down to take out her camera. Prepared for it, Daniel and Ruby smiled as the shutter clicked. Velvet gave them a thumbs up as she put her camera down. "I'll send it to you tomorrow."

"Make a few copies." Yang shouted from across the table, "We might need it for blackmail."

"Alright, what do we have here." Annabeth's voice was heard from behind all of them. "Apparently Daniel's finally grew a pair and asked Ruby out on a date."

Ruby smiled as she waved with Coco, Velvet, and Daniel. "Hey, Bananannabeth!" she greeted.

Annabeth gave her a small glare. "Huntress or not," she proclaimed, "I will find a way to make you stop calling me that."

"Like you'd find a way to stop her." Coco sassed. Smirking, she added, "Bananannabeth."

Annabeth blinked a few times. "Alright, before I have a mental breakdown, I'd prefer if I got your orders first."

Coco looked around the table. "I think we'd all like the traditional special." she guessed.

Annabeth nodded. As she turned to leave, she remembered, "Oh, we also have the cake ready, Daniel."

Daniel smiled and nodded. "Perfect. I'll pay for it on the spot."

Annabeth turned towards Ruby as she was walking back to the kitchen. "You're a lucky girl. This cake is actually pretty expensive, so lighten up on your meal."

Ruby looked up at Daniel, touched but slightly perplexed. "What did you buy, a ten-foot cake?"

Daniel shrugged. "I just asked for a chocolate cake," he answered.

Weiss directed a questioning look towards Daniel. "One does not simply 'just ask for a chocolate cake' and then buy the most expensive one there is." she accused.

"It wasn't the most expensive," Daniel argued.

"On the subject of expensive things," Ruby interjected, "how come you almost never run out of money? I've seen you pay for almost everything by yourself, and for some of the things you buy, the bill goes up."

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I… may have a side job."

As Velvet and Coco started giggling (Daniel shot the pair a dirty look), Blake asked, "And may we ask what your job is?"

Daniel let out a humph. "No, you may not," he replied.

"He's a handyman." Velvet blurted out.

The rest of them looked at Daniel in surprise as he waved his arms in an erratic and angry fashion before sighing and softly laying his face in the back of Ruby's hair. He mumbled something incoherent, prompting Coco to smugly ask, "What was that? Couldn't hear you."

Daniel mumbled it again and Ruby translated, "He says 'I hate you, Velvet', 'Why did you have to spoil it', and something about a really funny thing you apparently do."

To everyone's amusement, Velvet's face heated up. "D-don't you dare!" she stuttered.

Coco started bouncing in her seat, smirking a giant smirk. "Oh, oh, oh! Can I tell this?"

Velvet, looking scandalized, shouted, "Coco!"

Coco shrugged. "What? It's a great story," she reasoned.

"Okay, now I think we're all interested." Weiss proclaimed, propping up her chin with the palms of her hands, elbows on the table.

Coco's ear-to-ear smirk somehow widened. "Should I show it, or-?"

"Do it and I cut off your hand." Velvet threatened.

"Too late." Coco burst out, reaching up and… scratching a patch of skin just behind Velvet's rabbit ears. In an instant, Velvet curled into a ball and leaned heavily against Coco, eyes closed with her mouth parted in a small smile. Coco laughed as she threw an arm around her teammate. "Works every time." she announced, "She crumbles against her will if you find the sweet spot." Now everyone was smiling and silently laughing at the rabbit faunus's new "trick".

Daniel looked up from Ruby's hair to watch Velvet twitch her nose similar to a rabbit. With a smug look, he said, "I've used this way too often when she's angry at me. She'll stop doing this… eventually."

"That's discriminatory." Blake snapped, obviously not agreeing with the treatment of another faunus.

Coco shrugged as she continued to smugly scratch the same patch of skin on Velvet's head. "Eh, I prefer to think of it as 'unique' for her."

Yang shot Blake a quick look. "Hmm… I wonder."

Blake noticed Yang's undertone. "Yang, your hand will get cut off it you-."

"Too late!" Yang announced, reaching up to scratch Blake's bow. But, before her arm could move an inch, Blake's hand intercepted it. Yang pouted. "Party pooper," she mumbled, taking her hand back.

"Alright, guys. Enough messing around." Annabeth's voice called out. Setting an enormous tray of burgers on the table, she announced, "Food's here."

The rest of their meal was spent chowing down on burgers and fries, giving their compliments to the chef, and chatting about virtually anything that came to mind. Finally, the baskets of food were cleared and laid aside, and their glasses were drained. "That," Yang started, laying back in her seat with a hand on her stomach, "was amazing."

"I couldn't possibly eat another bite," Weiss remarked, a content smile on her lips.

"Unfortunately, you would probably want to." Daniel opined. Turning to the double doors leading to the kitchen, he cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "Hey, Annabeth. We're ready for the cake."

"Quiet down." Weiss scolded, "This isn't your house, you know."

"Considering how much time he spends in here," Annabeth retorted, backing out of the doors, "it basically is his home." Turning around, Weiss let out a small gasp at what was sitting in her hands. "I know." Annabeth chuckled at Weiss's reaction, "It's a thing of beauty, this is."

Everyone else, besides Daniel, was looking at the two-layered chocolate cake, decorated with strawberry halves, red frosted roses connected by green frosted vines, and a pair of black and red candles making the number "16". "I should probably mention," Annabeth added, enjoying their gobsmacked expressions, "the top is strawberry, and the bottom layer is chocolate."

Now, their attention was directed to the buyer, Daniel. Daniel looked at each of their faces, one after another. "What?" he exclaimed.

"Are you sure you didn't get the most expensive chocolate cake?" Weiss repeated her question.

"Well, technically," Daniel argued as he handed Annabeth the wad of cash he won from the earlier bet, exchanging the bills for the cake, "it's not entirely a chocolate cake- it's part strawberry, as well."

"But isn't still a bit extravagant to spend that much money on a cake, though?" Pyrrha asked, eyeing the cake.

"Pshh, it wasn't that expensive." Daniel brushed aside.

"You still owe me about five Lien," Annabeth commented, rifling through the stack of money.

"And," Pyrrha drawled out, "point made."

Daniel rolled his eyes as he handed over another bill to Annabeth. "Whatever, my gift at least wasn't that expensive as it should be, so I had some money left over."

"And I'm going to guess that's not the only thing that's going to be left over," Coco commented, gesturing to the enormous cake.

Ren sighed. "I'm starting to regret what I chose to give Ruby now," he commented.

"Speaking of which," Ruby spoke, "can we open the gifts now? Please, please, please," drawing out the last "please".

Daniel looked around the table, seemingly asking the question with his eyes. "I'm down for it. We can just eat the cake at any time."

"I not quite sure about that- I was really looking forward to the cake." Weiss deadpanned. The others gave her a look, making Weiss stare back. "Seriously?" she exclaimed, "That was a joke." When a small but drawn out "Oh" came from the rest of them, Weiss sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Why do I even bother."

"That's the problem, Ice Queen." Yang said with a smirk, "That was the first time you bothered."

"Back on topic," Jaune interrupted before another verbal brawl could commence, "I don't have a problem with eating the cake later. Let's just get the presents done on Ruby's birthday."

The rest nodded in agreement, prompting Daniel to speak. "Alright, so I guess we're doing presents first, cake later. Ren." The teen in question raised his head to look directly at Daniel. "Under your feet, there's a loose tile in the ground. Pull it off, and our gifts should be stored underneath."

As Ren got up and pulled his seat back, Yang looked at Daniel with newfound interest. "This really is like your home," she stated.

Meanwhile, Coco reached into her pockets and pulled out a small photo. "Here's our gift to you, Little Red," she explained as Ruby took it with a confused look. When she flipped it around, it showed Ruby's and Daniel's blushing faces on their first date (AN: Sorry, "Outing"). Suspiciously, Coco was omitted from the picture.

"Aw, thanks, you guys!" Ruby squeaked, leaning over and giving the pair a hug, drawing out an even larger smile from the two upperclassmen.

Coco laughed as she patted the girl's back. "Alright, now." she fretted cheerfully, "I know it's a great picture, but I think Ren hit the jackpot in presents."

As Ren pulled gift after gift out from the under the tiles (some were neatly wrapped and packed boxes, while others were essentially a white trash bag), Ruby rubbed her hands together in anticipation and asked, "Who wants to go first?"

Yang jumped from her seat, yelling out a quick, "Me!" Out from the pile came a small, binder-sized package, wrapped in red wrapping paper.

Snatching the present from her sister, Ruby tore through the packaging and found… "A scrapbook?" Ruby held up the decorated red binder for the others to see.

Yang had a megawatt grin. "I helped you start the process." Yang went on, beckoning for Ruby to open up the binder.

Confused, Ruby opened up the binder in a way so that only Daniel and herself were able to see. With a snap, she closed the scrapbook, her blush seemingly glowing in the diner. Daniel, on the other hand, chuckled and reopened the book. "I honestly don't know how you got half of these pictures," he said in wonder, flipping through the first few pages.

Yang smirked. "Blake's not the only ninja here," she commented slyly.

The others that hadn't had a look all stared at the three in confusion. Sighing, Ruby laid the scrapbook flat on the table and opened the first few pages. There were pictures of Ruby's family on the first page, her team on the second, and various pictures with her throughout Vale on the third. When Ruby flipped to the fourth, everyone smirked and stifled their laughs, drawing a small, lighthearted glare from Ruby. On that fourth page was about ten photos of Ruby and Daniel in various positions of awkwardness. The pictures under the cherry-blossom were there. So were the ones about the aftermath of Yang and Daniel's fight. And, somehow, in the bottom corner was a picture of their very first kiss which Ruby and Daniel didn't even know that anyone was in their vicinity.

"Hmm." Jaune hummed, donning a megawatt grin. "Nice gift. So, the next page is going to be their wedding, right?"

To their amusement, Ruby and Daniel blushed bright red. "No, no, no," Coco interrupted in between laughs, "Next is their date, then the wedding."

Despite her blush lighting up the room, Ruby rolled her eyes as she put Velvet's picture into the scrapbook. Daniel rested his chin against her head and said, "Alright, alright. Cut it. Who's going next?"

"As Ruby's friend and partner," Weiss suggested, "it should be me that goes next."

"Why is it always like talking to an aristocratic queen whenever you speak?" Ruby complained cheerfully.

Yang quipped, "I thought we made it clear; she's the Ice Queen, so it is like talking to a queen."

Weiss let out a small humph as she dug out her present. When she emerged from the pile that was now set on a nearby booth's table, she pulled out a small white gift the size of a book, but much lighter. Ruby beamed as she took the item from her partner and ripped the wrapping off gently. Under the wrapping was a small box with the Schnee crest printed on the top of the package. Taking off the boxes cover, Ruby was greeted with the sight of an unconventional watch. Its design was similar to a watch's, with a silver case and a snowy white strap, but the clock face was missing, making it look more like a band. In its place was, once again, the Schnee family crest in black, contrasting with the white watch.

"It's something we give to employers." Weiss explained as Ruby held it up experimentally, "Normally, we give them to people as a sort of trust bond. However, we also give them to our closest partners." she ended with a smile and a pointing look.

Ruby was stunned at Weiss's words. She suddenly sprung up from her seat and tackled Weiss in a bear hug, almost sweeping Weiss off her feet. "Thank you so much, Weiss!" she exclaimed.

Weiss awkwardly patted the small girl on the back, a smile prevalent on her face. "It's my pleasure, partner." she replied, emphasizing the "partner".

Ruby gave one last squeeze as she pulled away. she anxiously stood near the pile of gifts, waiting for the next person to present.

"I guess I'll complete the team," Blake said, standing up. She dug out a rather large, rectangular present.

When Blake handed her gift to Ruby, Ruby hunched forward from the unexpected weight. "Oof." she breathed, catching the gift just before it hit the ground. She decided to set it on the table with a thud. Opening one end of the wrapping paper was… "Perry Johansson?" Ruby questioned.

Annabeth burst from the kitchen. "Did someone say, Perry Johansson?"

Blake looked at the woman in question. "You know the series?" she asked.

"Know it?" Annabeth repeated, "My best friend wrote it." Noticing Blake's wide eyes, she added, "I could probably hook you two up if you want." This drew a rapid nod in agreement from Blake. "I'm guessing that's a yes," Annabeth said with a chuckle, exiting to call it a night for her restaurant.

"But," Ruby interrupted, "why'd you get me a book series? Not to be mean or anything."

Blake shrugged. "The very first conversation you tried to strike up was about books." she reminded, "You specifically remembered fairy tales, and I thought this would be similar enough."

Ruby beamed at Blake, lifting the faunus's spirit even further. "Thanks, Blake!" Ruby thanked with a hug.

Jaune got out of his seat and made his way towards the pile of unopened presents. Taking out a somewhat hastily wrapped bag, his present looked more like a white bag similar to a mailman's. "It's probably better if I just dump it out," Jaune stated. Turning the bag over, he shook the bag over the group's table, letting its contents fall out. In it were stacks and stacks of envelopes, enough to start making a pile as large as the cake.

"The heck is all this?" Yang questioned, lifting one of the letters from the stack.

Ruby was asking the same question, but when she took a closer look at the names on their covers, she gasped. "How'd you get these?" she said in awe, holding two up.

"Writing to a school is a lot harder than it seems." Jaune claimed, "Finding where everyone lived was the toughest challenge, though."

Ruby shuffled through the pile, stunned. "How many of these things are there?" she asked.

Jaune shrugged. "I have no idea." he admitted, "I just wrote to the school in general, asking for anyone that was your friend to send you a letter. And this is the result."

The corners of Ruby's eyes were brimming with tears. "This…that's so…" she muttered, trying to find the right words. She eventually looked Jaune in the eyes and said with genuine gratitude, "Thank you."

Jaune pulled Ruby into a one-armed hug. "You're not the only one that was a loner for most of their lives. Although, you weren't even a loner, to begin with."

Ruby leaned into the hug, trying to express how thankful she truly was. Daniel let in a small quip, "Way to set the bar high for the boyfriend, Jaune."

"You'll get over it." Velvet quipped, smirking at Daniel's annoyed expression.

Daniel tried to reach up and rub Velvet's nerve spot, but she quickly snapped up and playfully tried to bite his fingers, making Daniel pull away. "Sorry," she chortled, "You're not getting me that easily."

"Oh, oh, oh! Can I go next?" Nora offered, her hand waving in the air like an eager kid in class. Without waiting for an answer, she made a beeline to the stockpile. Digging out a small package as small as Weiss's, she handed it to Ruby, both of them shaking in anticipation.

Ruby tore off the packaging quickly and pulled out the article of clothing. She held up her new black t-shirt in amusement and confusion, but mostly amusement. "Thanks for the sloth, Nora," she said with a small giggle.

Nora was bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I know, right? It's such a great shirt!"

Coco raised a questioning eyebrow at Nora. "Of course Nora would give a sloth t-shirt on someone's birthday," she remarked, amused.

Ren let out a small sigh. "Even after all these years," he started, "I still have no idea on how Nora came to be this obsessed with sloths."

"Hey, what a coincidence!" Nora exclaimed, "I forgot as well."

"Anyway…" Ruby drawled. "Moving on. Next present, please!" she said.

"I believe it would be my turn to go," Pyrrha stated. When no one challenged her, she picked out her present from the pile. "I would ask for you to give me a little time to explain before you put them on," she suggested.

Ruby took Pyrrha's gift, which was a wooden box the size of Nora's gift, she opened the lid to find two different pairs of earrings- one red and black while the other was gold and red- sitting on velvet. Both had the same design, though. Pyrrha took the red and gold version out of its place and gave Ruby the other pair. "These were gifts given to me by someone I used to consider as a friend." Pyrrha began, "She told me that she truly was my friend and that this would be a friendly reminder. Sadly, that person was just using my fame against me, and I cut her off." Pyrrha looked at Ruby with a genuine smile. "These two teams- and Daniel- were my first true friends that could care for me instead of my name. So, what better way to celebrate someone's birthday with a little more friendship?"

Ruby used a finger to lift one of the earrings out of the box, looking overwhelmed. "I'm not the type of girl that really enjoys jewelry," she admitted.

Pyrrha's smile didn't dampen in the slightest. "I realized that." she acknowledged, "I didn't think you were the kind that appreciates expensive things, so I'm giving this to you as a friendly gift."

Ruby's grin stretched from ear-to-ear at this point. "Thank you so much!" Ruby repeated herself, giving the redhead a hug rivaling the ferocity of Yang's.

Pyrrha awkwardly pulled away, but a grin still donned her face. "I believe Ren is going now," she commented.

"Indeed I am." Ren agreed, already having his gift in his hands. His present looked more like a picnic basket than an actual gift, but the top was covered by a film of wrapping paper for secrecy.

Ruby tore a hole through the wrapping paper to find… "Cookies?!" she squealed in excitement.

Ren chuckled at the girl's reaction. "It's a special recipe that I created. Underneath it is the recipe as well."

Ruby blushed at that last comment. "Thank you, Ren. It's just that…" she paused, "I don't know how to cook."

"No, but I can." Yang reminded, draping an arm around her sister's shoulder. "Don't worry, sis. If you want me to make a few for you, just ask."

"Wait," Blake interrupted, "you can cook?"

"Yep." Yang confirmed with a raised eyebrow, "Got a problem with that?"

Blake shook her head. "I just thought you would be the least likely to be able to make anything edible," she admitted.

"Anyway…" Ren drawled, "How's the taste, Ruby?"

Ruby took a tentative nibble on the end of one of the cookies, the stopped. She stared at it with a stunned expression, making Ren worries increase. "Ruby, are you alright?" he asked, "Allergic reaction? Bad taste?"

"No." Ruby denied in a small voice, "This… this is amazing!" she exclaimed, devouring the rest of the batch.

"Ruby, slow down." chided Weiss, "Knowing you, you're going to eat enough to throw up."

"You can't prove that!" Ruby mumbled through a mouthful of cookies, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. When Daniel reached out to grab one of the treats out of the basket, Ruby slapped it away. "Mine, not yours," Ruby warned.

"Too bad." Daniel chirped, snatching a cookie away before Ruby's hand could slap it away. He took a bite out of it and blinked in surprise. "Huh. Chocolate, and is that strawberry?"

Ren smiled and nodded. "Yep. I made it a few weeks back just for this occasion."

Ruby smiled at the black-haired boy. "Thank you, Ren!" she said right before another cookie entered her mouth, never to be seen again."

"Ok, I think that's all of them!" Coco said, standing up and stretching.

"Nope, there's one more." Yang clarified, holding up a small, hastily wrapped container.

Coco's eyebrows furrowed together. "But… there's no one else that has… a…" A smug and impish grin replaced her confused expression. "Apparently Daniel's outdone himself yet again."

Daniel shrugged as he presented his gift to Ruby. "It's not my fault that I'm giving my girlfriend a few more gifts." he proclaimed as Ruby took his gift. When she opened it, a loud gasp was heard from everyone able to see it (Yang, Weiss, and Ruby). Daniel chuckled. "So, I'm guessing it's a good gift?"

"Good?" Ruby repeated, "It's bloody brilliant!"

Velvet laughed. "I guess you don't have to worry about being outshone." she commented, "So, Ruby, can you show all of us now?"

Ruby shakenly lifted the necklace from its position. Velvet gasped, "You weren't kidding!"

The necklace was made of mostly silver, rose gold, and black gold (AN: This stuff looks amazingly cool), forming different designs of roses, alternating silver, red, and black, about the width of her index and forefinger. In the center of a few of these roses were brilliant, dark red gemstones that seemed to draw all the light towards it. The clasp on the back was a pair of black Beowolves with red eyes whose teeth interlocked to link the two ends together.

Coco whistled in appreciation. "Dang, Daniel." she commented, "You really went all out. First the date, now the necklace."

"Are those genuine rubies?" Weiss asked, prodding the gemstone lightly. Ruby didn't pull away since she was still too stunned to move, let alone speak. "Rubies don't shine like this."

"Of course they're not rubies." Daniel scoffed. The others sighed, mostly in disappointment. "They're red diamonds."

Weiss's eyes grew to the size of the plates they ate on. "How did you… when did … where you find those?!" she questioned shrilly, "There is only a handful of those in the world, and yet there's more in that necklace than every recorded!"

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Really? They're that rare?" he asked, amused, "Granted, it took me a few days to get the exact recipe, but Semblances do magic sometimes."

Weiss turned to Ruby. "Do not tell anyone these are real red diamonds," she demanded.

Ruby looked at her partner in confusion. "Why?"

"Did you not hear what I just said about them?" she exploded, "This necklace is probably worth more than this restaurant, and that's an understatement." ("Hey!" Annabeth's voice was heard.) "People would literally kill to have one in their possession. Imagine if a person had a necklace full." Weiss grabbed Ruby by the shoulders. "Under no circumstances are you allowed to tell anyone outside of this room what these are made of. You like and say they're pure rubies," she commanded seriously. Weiss then turned to the others in the room who had their jaws dropping to the floor. "And the same rules go for you all as well."

Once everyone said their vows, only then did Weiss relax in her seat. -"That goes to you, too, Annabeth," she shouted towards the kitchen.

"Got it!" a female's voice was heard echoing from behind the doors.

"I take that back." Coco said, "You didn't just go over the top, you destroyed the bar."

"Amen to that," Yang added.

"Well, I think it's sweet," Ruby commented, trying to hook it around her neck.

Daniel walked over behind Ruby. "Here, let me help." He took the ends of the necklace and clasped them together gently behind Ruby's neck. "There," he said, giving Ruby a chaste kiss, "you look better already."

"Aww…" Most of their group cooed, drawing bright blushes from the couple. "Lame!" Yang commented, making them laugh instead.

"Gee, Yang." Ruby mocked, "Way to ruin the moment."

"It's what I'm here for, sis." Yang shot back with a grin.

"Well, if you don't want to wait another year for a gift this amazing, you always have that date coming up." Velvet commented smugly, "Speaking of which, where's it going to be at?"

Daniel's eyebrows knit together. "You know, I never thought about that. Didn't think I'd get this far," he admitted.

Most of the girls groaned. So did Jaune. "Just as soon as I thought you were actually doing better at this," Coco groaned, "you had to go and do this."

Daniel laughed and rolled his eyes. "Two years older than me and still doesn't have a boyfriend." he reminded Coco.

Coco smirked. "Who needs a boyfriend when you have this little bunny over here." Once she ended her comment, Coco reached for Velvet's rabbit ears.

"Don't you dare!" Velvet exclaimed, yet again. Yet again, Coco's hand found its target, and Velvet crumbled, closing her eyes and feeling like she was in a utopia.

"Works every time." Coco chuckled, "Well, hate to break up the party, but it's getting late, and I have to take this rabbit back to its cage." she pointed to Velvet. She picked up Velvet in a bridal style and started to walk out the building. "See ya, guys! Bye Bananannabeth!" she tagged on the end with a smirk.

"Don't call me that!" Annabeth's voice was heard from the back room.

"Never gets old." were Coco's last words before she left.

"I suggest we should all head back." Weiss spoke, "I agree with Coco- it is getting late."

"I'm ready to leave," Yang said, arms loaded with a bundle of goodies. "You guys coming?"

"Not yet." Daniel said, "I promised Annabeth I'd clean up after the group."

"Well, I think this is goodbye, for now, friends," Pyrrha spoke. "Farewell!"

"We'll see you tomorrow!" Ruby called to Daniel over her shoulder, being dragged along by her teammates. "Bye!"

"See ya, Rubes!" Daniel said with a wave.

And with that ended Team JNPR's day, with Daniel's day coming to a wrap. Team RWBY, however, had one more thing to do.

"I told you not to eat that many cookies." Weiss scolded Ruby who was hunched over the toilet, "And look where we are now."

"Sorry," Ruby apologized right before another nauseating puke. "They were so good." she moaned.

"I can't believe this is happening," Weiss grumbled, leaving the bathroom.

When she was out of earshot, Ruby mumbled, "Me neither." Anything else she was about to say was interrupted by another vomit.

 **AN: And that's how I'm going to end the day. Hey guys, Fireflame here. I don't think you were expecting this so soon, but surprise- I'm back! So, if anyone can guess what's happening, next chapter, I don't know what else to say except for, "Congratulations, I'm sorry." Apolios, you said you guessed the meaning of the story's title. I will tell you you're probably wrong. If you did, you wouldn't be applauding me.**

 **Ok, so we have a winner. Well, technically two. The cherry-blossom and the beach won, so I'm choosing the beach. Thank you for voting!**

 **Also, I added about a half a dozen different references to this. That's what happens when you binge watch The Imitation Game and X-Ray and Vav all week. Ok, for the next chapter, I'm revealing the meaning of this story. I wrote this story for two main reasons: one, I wanted to show my friends the good side of this site, and not the site full of crap writers and the obligatory cliche story. The second was this. I won't spill it yet, but I do have two words for you guys.**

 **I'm sorry.**


	14. Chapter 13: Wilting Rose and Wilted Past

**Hey, guys! Welcome back to Wilting Rose. If you're reading this, thank you. Thank you guys for all the support you have for me. I really didn't think I'd make it this far without screwing up something major in the plotline.**

 **Alright, here's something that sorta needs to be said. I'm not going to do long time skips like RWBY Season 3-4. At most I'm only going to do a week, maybe a month if it comes to it.**

 **I'm going to say one thing: this is the chapter that makes or breaks me. If you're with me after this chapter, you'll probably stick around to the end. Or, you're going to leave because of what I'm doing here. Either way, I'm legit terrified to post this- not because I think it's a bad idea, but because it's so outlandish and unheard of in this fandom.**

 **Well, let's not drag this on any longer. Welcome, to Your Best Nightmare (Flowey's here!)**

 **Disclaimer: I have no ownership of anything here. Anything that looks like it's a copy of something probably is, especially of RWBY. If it's original, it probably has a few influences.**

 **Disclaimer 2: I'm sorry for what's about to happen. This is probably the most original I will ever get in this fandom.**

Chapter 13: Wilting Rose and Wilted Pasts

Yang was starting to worry. For the past week, Ruby constantly lagged behind in their team. At first, they all thought she was just sick or caught the flu, but after a week passed and Ruby didn't get any better, they realized it was more than just a virus. She threw up at least once every day, and Yang noticed her sister was eating less and less as time flew by. Ruby tried denying it, saying it was a sickness, but her team said otherwise. She didn't even have the same flare to her, and her hyper attitude was slowing down enough that even Weiss had a problem with the lack of energy in her partner.

Yang couldn't take it anymore. That night, as their team was getting ready for bed, Yang started, "Ruby, can I talk to you for a second?"

Ruby, already in her covers and reading Blake's gift, sat up and took her headphones off to listen to her sister, feet dangling over the edge of her bed. "Sure, Yang." she replied, "What's up?"

Yang looked at Ruby intently. "You've been acting strange recently." she hesitantly noted.

"What? No, I haven't." Ruby denied with a nervous chuckle.

"You've started to slow down more often." Blake agreed with Yang, "You're not bouncing off the walls as often."

"So I'm changing," Ruby countered, "big deal."

"Yes, it is a big deal." Weiss admitted, "While I do dislike your tendency to disrupt us during our studies, it is getting weird, to say the least, when you're not acting like yourself."

"It's called growing up." Ruby argued, "And I've finally done it."

"You're also doing fewer activities than us, but you're somehow the most tired when we come back when classes are over." Weiss pointed out.

"I put the most effort in compared to you guys!" Ruby shot back.

"If by 'most effort' you mean you stare off into space with an agitated look, then yes." Blake commented, "You are putting in the most effort."

"I only do that in Professor Port's classes!" Ruby threw her hands up in annoyance. "Who doesn't, besides Weiss!"

How about the fact that you're eating less when I know your speed Semblance takes a lot of energy to use?" Yang pulled out her trump card. Ruby sat on her bed, trying to look for another excuse. "Or that you somehow manage to throw up every day. Is that still considered as the flu?" Ruby stared at her sheets glumly. Again, she had no answer for what Yang brought forth. Yang's expression softened at her sister's downtrodden expression. "Ruby," she coaxed, hopping onto Ruby's bunk and letting her sister lean her head against her shoulder in comfort, "at least tell me what's going on." She then noticed how frail Ruby felt, even thinner than her usual self. "Ruby, seriously! You're basically skeleton and skin right now! How are you okay in any standpoint?"

"I told you," Ruby murmured, "I'm fine."

"Fine doesn't cut it." Yang declared, "Ruby, what's going on?"

"It's just a stomach bug." Ruby shot out quickly, obviously lying, "It's nothing to worry about." It was indeed something to worry about since right after that sentence came out of her mouth, Ruby's cheeks immediately bloated as she turned green. She jumped out of her bed and rushed into the bathroom with Yang hot on her heels.

"Stomach bug my ass," Yang muttered as she held back Ruby's hair. Ruby was once again bent over, kneeling at a toilet while puking out her stomach's contents. Yang's eyes bulged at the sight of the color in the bowl. "Ruby!" she exclaimed loudly, "Is that blood?"

At this, the rest of their team sprinted into the bathroom, any drowsiness in their eyes completely gone. Blake's nose wrinkled at the metallic smell of blood combined with the acidic smell of vomit. "That isn't natural on any occasion," she concluded, pinching her nose shut.

Weiss followed suit, but still, she looked over Ruby's shoulder to peer into the toilet. "Ruby, has it always been like this?" she implored.

"Just the last few times," she admitted weakly.

"That's it." Yang asserted, "You're going to the hospital. No questions asked."

"But…" Ruby tried to argue. When her friends all looked at her with a challenging look, she just sighed. "Alright." she conceded, "I'll go. I just don't want to be such a hassle for you guys."

Weiss let out a deep breath through her nose as she guided Ruby and Yang out of the restroom and into the hall. "On the contrary: you're a hassle when you start lying to your teammates." she proclaimed.

When they were headed towards the stairs, the encountered Daniel climbing the stairs, back from who knows where. "Hey, guys." he greeted with a smile. When he saw their grim and somber expressions, he frowned. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Ask your girlfriend." Weiss huffed, "We have to take her to the hospital now."

Daniel's eyebrows shot up. "What's going on?" he implored.

"Nothing!" Ruby blurted, "They're just making a big deal out of something."

Yang scowled at her sister's words. "Ruby, just stop. No one here believes you."

"I'm fine, I swear!" Ruby tried to throw off Yang's hand on her shoulder, but her grip was iron-like. To calm her down, Daniel, without thinking, grabbed Ruby's head in his hands and kissed her roughly. For a brief second, Ruby forgot what she was doing and played along. Then, she pulled away and scowled. "Don't do that ever again to try and shut me up," she warned Daniel.

Daniel smirked in response. "It worked, didn't it?"

Ruby looked confused, but it quickly changed to astonishment when she felt a pair of handmade handcuffs linking her wrists together. She stared at Daniel who started to feel uncomfortable under the penetrating stare. "Sorry, Rubes." he apologized, "It was the first thing I could think of to try and stop you."

Ruby's shoulders slumped in defeat, realizing there was no way out of this trip. "Let's go," she said, depressed as she trudged on.

"Mind if I join you?" Daniel whispered to Yang as they walked closely behind Ruby. With a shake of her head, Daniel and Team RWBY headed to a horribly anxious trip towards Vale's best hospital.

When they arrived, it was about 10 at night, so the nurse at the desk was quite shocked to see five hunters and huntresses in training walk through the doors. Thankfully, Daniel uncuffed Ruby before they walked in, or else the nurse probably would've had a heart attack herself. "Hello." she greeted with a somewhat cheerful tone, "How can I help you all?"

"Hi." Yang replied absentmindedly, "Can we see someone? My sister's been having something that she claims is a stomach bug, but it's been going on for a couple of weeks now. So, we wanted to make sure it wasn't anything serious."

The nurse nodded in acknowledgment and started typing down the info she received. "Name?" she asked.

"Ruby Rose," Ruby replied timidly, scuffing the bottom of her shoe against the ground.

"Hometown?"

"Patch."

"Birthdate?"

Ruby was about to respond when a hand was placed on her shoulder. "I think I can help you with any questions related to Ruby." a gruff voice was heard. (AN: This was basically for my lack of knowledge.)

"Oh!" the nurse exclaimed in surprise, "Headmaster Ozpin! I assume these are your students?"

"They are." Ozpin said with a nod, "I believe I have the medical forms from Miss Rose's admission for Beacon. Would that suffice?"

"It would." the nurse agreed, "Is there anything else I should know about Ruby's condition? Any prior occurrences of these symptoms?"

Ruby shook her head, her team mimicking her movement. "Not that we know of," Weiss added.

The nurse nodded as she filled out the remaining blanks in the file. "I see." she thought out loud. "Now," she said with an emphasis by clicking her pen against the desk, "I can probably get you to a doctor as soon as I talk to them. If you would, could you escort Miss Rose to Room 413 on Floor 4? Headmaster Ozpin? I also require your assistance in filing these reports together with her prior medical history."

The four of the ushered Ruby to the elevator, towards her new hospital room, albeit slowly since Ruby was trotting along like it was her funeral. Ozpin nodded and followed the nurse towards the doors opposite of Team RWBY's intended direction.

When the five of them arrived in Room 413, they first made note of the bland and stale atmosphere combined with the nauseating smell of antibiotics, cleaning supplies, and downright disgusting stench of artificial drugs. Around the room were the standard equipment and visuals (AN: Confession time- I've actually never been in a hospital room, so I'm just guessing right now)- two beds, a curtain for privacy, sets of heart rate monitors, IV bags, a small nightstand off to the side, tiled ceilings, white and grey tiled floors, and bland white walls. Two monitors were hooked to the wall, overlooking the beds, with a cabinet full of supplies opposite to them.

"Cozy," Ruby commented sarcastically, hopping onto one of the beds.

"Come on, Ruby." Daniel encouraged, sitting next to her and wrapping an arm around her waist, "It shouldn't be that bad, should it?"

Ruby groaned as she pressed her face against Daniel's shirt. "Now you've gone and jinxed it," she claimed through the fabric of his shirt.

"Not yet." Daniel denied, wrapping his other arm around her. The others looked at the pair with small smiles. "Guys, do you agree with Ruby or me?"

The other three shrugged in response. "I mean," Yang added, "whenever someone says something along the lines of 'this can't get worse', it usually does."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Coincidence. Doesn't apply to every situation."

Ruby was opening up her mouth to argue, but the door to their room opened up and revealed Ozpin standing there with a new member. She was a blonde woman, about as tall as Yang, with small crinkles around her eyes and small dimples in her cheeks. Her blue eyes sparkled with intelligence and experience as she looked intently at the teens in the room. "Is that my patient?" she asked, pointing to Ruby.

Ozpin nodded. "Children, meet Doctor Bianca Kent. Dr. Kent, this is Ruby Rose." He motioned to the small bundle pressed into Daniel's side.

"Ruby," Daniel whispered, "you should probably let go. The doctor's here."

"No," Ruby protested, snuggling deeper into his side.

"Ok, you're going to have to let go at some point," Daniel commented. Ruby made no attempt to remove herself from his side. Daniel looked at his friends for help to no avail. Yang, Weiss, and Blake all were restraining from giggling while even Ozpin was smirking at Daniel's predicament. "Guys, c'mon!" he whined.

Dr. Kent chuckled. "It's fine," she commented, "Now, come on, Miss Rose. I need to find out what your friends are getting scared over."

Ruby hesitantly unraveled herself from Daniel and sat on the edge of the bed, leg bouncing rapidly. "Will it hurt?" she asked timidly.

"The diagnosis?" Dr. Kent clarified, "No, it's just a Semblance I have. You don't even have to take off your clothes for this to work."

Weiss's eyebrows furrowed together. "I didn't know Semblances could be used to heal people."

"Normally, they don't." Dr. Kent admitted, "But, many people have non-violent Semblances. For example, one of my friends is a veterinarian, and she can speak with animals."

"That's cool!" Yang stated.

Dr. Kent smiled. "Alright, I think I should check up on my patient, now." She made Ruby lay down flat on the bed. "You mention your stomach is the main problem?" Ruby nodded. "Ok," Dr. Kent said, popping her knuckles, "this may tickle." She placed her hands on Ruby's abdomen, hands glowing a dim white. "No bugs or viruses," she claimed, tracing her hands up and down Ruby's stomach. She suddenly frowned. "That's odd."

"Odd?" Ruby asked, slightly hyperventilating, "How's anything odd? What's wrong with odd?"

"Easy, Miss." Dr. Kent cautioned, "It could be a false alarm." She prodded her right under the ribs a couple of times. "I will, however, refer you to a gastroenterologist."

Ruby blinked. "A what?"

"Someone that specializes in diseases in a patient's digestive system," the doctor explained.

"But, I feel fine!" Ruby claimed.

"As of what I'm feeling," Dr. Kent commented, prodding her stomach one last time, "I can say you probably don't feel fine."

Ozpin spoke up, "How long will it take to find a… gastroenterologist, is it?"

Dr. Kent nodded. "Hard to say, but it only should take a couple of minutes. Hold on, I'll be right back." She exited the room, leaving the others in a tense and awkward silence.

"It could be a false alarm, like she said," Yang said after a while.

"Yeah," Ruby drawled, sitting up, "a false alarm."

Daniel and Yang shared a look and sat on both sides of Ruby, engulfing her in a sandwich hug. "Look on the bright side!" Yang chimed.

"What bright side?" Ruby grumbled but hugged them nonetheless.

"A lot of hugs?" Daniel offered.

Ruby smiled. "There's the silver lining," she said, making the others silently laugh.

Dr. Kent re-entered their room with another woman. "Everyone, this is Doctor Cher Treuse." Cher was a tall woman, reaching past even Ozpin's height. Her short and bright, lime green hair and yellow eyes would stand out in any crowd. Wearing a pair of doctor's scrubs, she stood in the doorframe, leaning against the door. "Miss Rose, if you could follow us." Dr. Kent asked, motioning towards the hallway.

Ruby got up and walked towards the doctors, slightly shivering in fear. Dr. Treuse noticed this and put on an encouraging smile. "Stop being a pansy." she chided playfully, "You're a Huntress in training, after all."

At this, Ruby shot her a grateful smile and stood up a little bit straighter. The others stood to follow, but Dr. Kent motioned for them to sit back down. "I'm sorry, but you're not allowed in the room, and, quite frankly, it looks worse than it is."

Yang narrowed her eyes in suspicion as Dr. Treuse herded Ruby towards the lab. "What are you going to do to my sister?" she asked.

"In the least scientific way we can explain it, we're giving her an x-ray, a CAT scan, and then sticking a small camera down her throat and into her stomach." Dr. Kent vaguely explained. The teens gasped in sync, and Dr. Kent sighed. "This is why I didn't want you guys to know; it's one of the only things that's morbid to discuss, but in practice, it's neat at worst."

"What do you think my sister has?" Yang almost growled at the doctor.

"Yang, watch your temper!" Weiss chided.

"We don't know." Dr. Kent admitted, "That's why we're going through this process. Normally, I could spot any abnormalities or extra substances like bacteria, but I honestly have no clue on what Miss Rose has."

Meanwhile, in the lab, Ruby was done having an x-ray over her torso. "So," Ruby started, "can I go now?"

Dr. Treuse shook her head. "Sorry, we still have a few more tests to run." She frowned at the x-ray. "Bianca was right." she murmured too low for Ruby to hear.

"Hmm?" Ruby hummed, sitting up on the table, "What'd you say?"

"I was thinking to either run a CAT scan or a GI next." Dr. Treuse lied.

"So…" Ruby said, "We're not done."

"Not yet." the doctor confirmed, "Hop up onto here." She patted a sort of table with a donut-shaped machine around it."

Actual Line. Replace this text.

"Where the heck are they?" Yang hollered, pacing back and forth in the hospital room.

"They're probably giving Ruby the last test." Daniel reasoned, "It's been fifty minutes when Dr. Kent said it would take about an hour."

"Exactly!" Weiss agreed, annoyed by all of Yang's fretting, "Now, sit down and be patient for once!"

"Alright, that's enough, Weiss," Blake said. She put a hand on the small girl's shoulder.

"I just don't get it." Yang fretted, "Why does it take an hour to finally say Ruby's ok? This feels like a waste of time!"

"Miss Xiao Long!" Dr. Kent scolded, "Would you rather have us take a few more minutes to make sure your sister is ok, or have us not check over it and accidentally kill her for not making sure she was fine?" Yang grumbled out a small apology as she sat down. "Exactly." Dr. Kent huffed, "You can't rush a procedure that has a set time span."

"Fine." Yang huffed, crossing her arms, "It doesn't mean I have to like it, though."

"None of us do," Blake joined in, "but we still have to live with it."

Yang was opening her mouth to shoot back a playful retort when the door opened. In came a confused Ruby and a somber Dr. Treuse. Yang quickly shot out of her chair and gave Ruby a tight hug. Guiding Ruby back to sit on the bed, Yang continued to hold onto Ruby like it was her lifeline. Dr. Kent made her way over to Dr. Treuse. "What were the results?" she asked.

Dr. Treuse grimaced, "You were right." she sighed, handing over a folder full of pictures and charts. "You were 100% right."

Dr. Kent flipped through the file, eyes widening at each page turned. "How has it spread this far?" she gasped, "By their observations, she's only about a month in!"

Ozpin stretched out his hand towards the doctors. "May I?" he asked, beckoning towards the folder. With a pale face, Dr. Kent gave the headmaster the file. As soon as he saw the first few words, his hand covered his mouth as his eyes widened. "It shouldn't be possible." he breathed, "I checked her record myself."

Yang tightened her hold on her sister. "What's wrong?" she hesitantly asked. "She- she's fine, right?" Her breath hitched as the two doctors gave her a pitying look.

"It's…"

AN: And fin. Hey, guys! Fireflame here. Here's the next install- wait, we're not done? (*Stares at script). Oh wait, we're not. Sorry. For the record, I am sorry for any feelings you have for me so far, because they're about to get worse.)

"I'm sorry, Miss Xiao Long." Ozpin sympathized.

"She's fine, right?" Yang repeated.

Dr. Kent sighed as she folded her arms across her chest, staring at the ground. "It's cancer," she admitted.

Even though nothing changed, the room suddenly felt like it dropped a few degrees. Yang tensed as she shook, eyes glazing over. "No." she whispered, "That's not right. You're wrong."

"I'm sorry," Dr. Treuse said with a frown, "That's the only thing these pictures can be described as."

Yang sprung out like a cobra and snatched the file from Ozpin's hands. With this, Ruby was free from Yang's grip and sat on the bed, swinging her legs. "So…" Ruby thought out loud, "Can I go now?"

The two doctors and her friends (Yang was too busy reading through the file) all looked at her incredulously. "Miss Rose," Dr. Treuse started, "do you know what cancer is?"

Ruby shrugged. "I know it's a sickness, that's about it."

Dr. Treuse sighed as she sat left of Ruby. "Cancer is a spread of abnormal, mutated cells that destroys healthy tissue along the way. Your type of cancer, stomach cancer, is still at an early stage, so we can treat it. Fortunately, your Semblance can help with the process, so it should be completely gone within the year."

Ruby stared at her intently. "It can? How?"

Dr. Treuse gave her a small smile. "Your Semblance raises your ability to fight off offending infections and bacteria by already raising your body's temperature. Once we help the body label the mutated cells as offenders, we can-."

"Wait, that's not my Semblance," Ruby stated.

"What?" Dr. Treuse questioned in slight surprise, "Then, who's Semblance uses kinetic energy against their opponents?"

"I believe you're thinking about Yang over here." Weiss pointed out, "She absorbs blows to strengthen her own. It also somehow sets her hair on fire."

"Ok, I must've grabbed the wrong background file. What's your Semblance then?" Dr. Treuse inquired.

"Speed," Ruby replied.

Dr. Treuse's eyes widened to comical sizes as her mouth went slack. "How long do your average illnesses last, not including this one?"

"A few hours," Ruby recalled, "Why does it matter?"

"Oh no." Dr. Treuse muttered, "Oh no, this is bad. Miss Xiao Long, I'm going to need to see that folder again."

Yang handed her back the folder. "Would her Semblance speed up the process?" Yang asked.

Dr. Treuse didn't give her an answer as she jotted down a couple of notes and redid her calculations. After a minute of uncomfortable silence and note taking, the quiet scratching of Dr. Treuse's pen stopped. "How much do you know about Aura and Semblances?" she seemingly randomly asked.

Ruby frowned at this easy question. "It's a manifestation of one's soul." she memorized, "Semblances also reflect our Auras as well."

Dr. Treuse sighed as she rubbed the edges of her eyes. "We've discovered this about a year back," she started, "Aura is a manifestation of a soul, yes. It's the physical embodiment of it. However, Semblances are a bit more complicated. It's based not just on the power of the aura or how one can utilize it- a person can have the strongest spiritual sense and the weakest abilities. It's also based on the personality of an individual, and in turn gives a small base for how our body and character functions. I can already tell that Miss Rose here is very childlike, hyper, attention deficient, and tries to exceed all expectations and speed up any process."

"She did get admitted into Beacon two years early." Yang admitted, "So, how is this all related to this?"

"I didn't expect you to understand just yet." Dr. Treuse said, "You see, if Miss Rose has a speed Semblance, that doesn't just affect how fast she runs. In turn, it also affects the systems inside her. I bet she eats almost as much as any of you and still is this thin."

"So, Semblances can affect how our entire body functions?" Blake clarified.

Dr. Treuse nodded. "In most cases, speed Semblances are usually good. Sped up heal rates, seemingly slowing down time around them, combat-wise and age-wise- which is why Miss Rose, I assume, is childlike-, speed up the digestive system, and it also gives them a boosted immune system to stop most diseases in their tracks. This isn't the case for cancer."

"Why not?" Yang demanded, "It's a sickness, is it not?"

"It is, but there's a little more to it." Dr. Treuse handed over the file to Ruby's friends to look at it for the first time. In the margins were dozens upon dozens of handwritten notes and calculations. "Cancer isn't an invader, it's a part of someone. It's a cell already in the human body that's gone rogue, in simple terms. One of the most dangerous things about it is how fast it can spread if untreated…"

"And if a person has a speed Semblance," Blake speculated with halted breath, "he or she would speed up how fast it grows."

Dr. Treuse sadly nodded her green hair. "Normally, a month into this wouldn't be so bad. However, in Miss Rose's condition, it's similar to a regular person in his or her third month of untreated cancer."

Ruby, up until this point, was staring at the floor in thought, twiddling her thumbs. "How long?" she whispered, "How long do I have?"

Dr. Treuse looked at her in sympathy. "It is still treatable, but we're a lot tighter on schedule. If it goes on for a year, it would probably enter stage 5. To put that in perspective, the worst we've ever seen and can measure would be Stage 4."

Yang started to hyperventilate. "Then, she can use her Aura to make a sort of barrier against cancer, right?" she pleaded, "I mean, my dad told me about how to fight off diseases with my Aura."

Dr. Treuse shook her head. "It would be able to do that with invaders, but cancer isn't an invading organism- it's already a part of her. In fact, using her Aura could speed it up, so she can't be in the field until she is fully healed."

Yang collapsed on the ground, head in her hands. "Ok, ok," she repeated like a mantra. "So she's going to have to go through surgeries, big deal." she reassured herself, "She'll be fine; nothing will change. She's still going to be a part of our team. Ruby's not going anywhere."

The bombshell had already been dropped, but Ozpin needed and had to break the even bigger news. "Miss Xiao Long, it wouldn't be that simple. In order for a person to be a Huntsman or Huntress, one must be at their top shape to fight and serve. I'm sorry, but even if Ruby is cured of any terminal version of cancer, she will have to be subjected to many check-ups in the future to make sure this won't happen to her again. Combine that with the fact that she'll fall behind in academics and physically, I'm sorry to say that even if Miss Rose is cured, she cannot become a Huntress."

A sudden crash jerked the attention away from Ruby towards the sound. Yang slammed her hand against the wall, creating a hole. "I'm sorry, you five." Dr. Treuse said, "The most I can say is that it's treatable. But, we only have about six months. After that, it's terminal."

Something snapped inside of Yang. Instead of flying off the handle like her friends expected (Weiss and Blake were already primed if they had to restrain the blonde), she just calmly walked out the door without a word. When she got into the halls, the others heard the pitter-patter of her steps as she took off into a sprint.

Daniel just sat there in shock. His first girlfriend, his lifeline that brought him back from depression, was on the edge of death. Even if she survived, her future was shaky at best. "I sure know how to pick them." he thought grimly. Daniel stood up and gave Ruby a quick but firm hug. Holding her at arm's length, Daniel stared into her eyes. Instead of the flare and spark of energy and liveliness, there was nothing. Instead of a fiery and passionate silver that sparkled, her eyes seemed cloudy, dull, and dead, unresponsive to anything happening around her. Ruby mouthed the word "No, no, no" over and over again.

"Well," Ruby croaked after a few seconds, "At least I still have three of my friends." Her voice was hoarse, seemingly aging a decade in the span of a minute.

Daniel winced as he noted the underlying tone. He stood up and walked away from Ruby. "I'll go and find Yang," he promised. He then turned to Weiss and Blake who were both on the verge of tears. "You two stay with her for a while. I don't think I have to emphasize how important it is to keep her company, right?"

Weiss and Blake both shook their heads as they got up and sat next to Ruby. Before Daniel left, Blake said, "Wait, Daniel." Daniel turned around and saw Blake looking directly into his eyes. "There's a bar that Yang sometimes talks about. It's run by a guy named Junior. Check there and Beacon. After that, I don't know where she could've gone."

Daniel nodded in appreciation as he started his search. He first rushed toward the airdocks to make sure Yang hadn't taken an airship back to Beacon. When he found no sign that she ever came there and that nothing was leaving for another half hour, he checked off Beacon from his list. Then he set off for the bar Blake mentioned.

Daniel eventually stumbled upon it after asking for directions four different times. He came upon a building in the corner of a street, a small line of people blocked off by a velvet rope. "Excuse me." he said, walking up to one of the bouncers, "Is this the place run by Junior?"

"Yeah, kid." the bouncer shot back rudely, "What's it to you?"

Daniel asked, "Have you seen a girl that may have come by here? About yay tall," he motioned at about his height, "blonde hair, and-."

"Wait," the second bouncer interrupted, "You mean blondie? The Xiao Long girl?"

"Yep, that's her," Daniel confirmed.

The second bouncer started to open the door for Daniel. "If you can get her out in the next fifteen minutes, that would be a miracle."

Daniel thanked them before going through the doors into Vale's underground madness. He was then almost blown off his feet from the sheer loudness of the music and visual. It was a multi-light show on the next level. The dance floor was packed with sweaty bodies, dancing to a song played by a DJ in a panda suit. "She's down by the bar." the bouncer shouted over the music, "You should probably talk to her quick."

Daniel gave him a nod of thanks and set off into the club. Finding the bar off to the side, Daniel saw the familiar mess of blonde hair slumped over in her seat. Daniel sat down next to Yang, noticing the three or four glasses already in front of her. "Hey, Yang." Daniel greeted after a moment.

"What do you want?" Yang almost growled at Daniel, going to take another swig of her pink drink.

Daniel sighed as he stared at Yang's unresponsive face that was staring at the bar. "Ruby wants you back." he commented, "You should probably go."

Yang chuckled without humor, setting down her glass. "She's got plenty of company already." Yang shot back, "I won't make a difference." Her voice tapered off at the end, eyes starting to brim with unshed tears.

Daniel somehow managed to get the bartender's attention. "How many drinks has this girl had?" he asked without Yang overhearing.

The bartender shrugged. "Three, four strawberry sunrises?" he responded, "She's not drunk yet."

Yang slammed the glass back onto the table after another gulp. "Screw it," she mumbled. "Hey, give me a Vesper Martini, Grimm dark."

The bartender raised an eyebrow at Yang. "You sure, miss?" he asked, "That's going to put a dent in your bill." Turning to Daniel, he said as an aside, "And a dent in your alcohol level."

"Just do it." Yang growled, "I'm trying to forget that this day ever happened."

Daniel pulled the bartender a little farther away from Yang. "Don't give her whatever she asked for." he advised, "Just give her a shot of apple juice or something. I'll cover her costs."

The bartender nodded as he started pulling out random bottles out from the shelves, but discreetly pouring a glass of juice for Yang. He handed her the drink which she downed in one go. The bartender looked at Daniel with an unreadable look. "I don't know what you've gotten yourself into." he pitied, "Good luck."

Daniel sat back down next to a brooding Yang. "Your sister wants you back," he said again.

"Good for her." Yang sighed, "You should go as well- you two are head over heels for each other."

"That may be true," Daniel agreed, "but she needs your support."

Yang laughed, her eyes void of happiness. "And how could I make a difference?" she mocked, "After all, the odds are stacked against her. We might as well say she's going to have to stay in the hospital indefinitely."

Daniel sighed as he stood up. "Come on," Daniel suggested, tugging on Yang's sleeve, "Let me show you something."

Yang grumbled but stood up rather shakily. The bartender looked at the pair with a small smile tugging at his lips. "You're a good kid," he commented.

Daniel threw a small wad of cash down on the bar. "Just round up to the tens and hand me some back." he clarified.

With a small exchange of money, Daniel finally led Yang out of the club, into the cool and bright night. While they were passing the bouncers, he heard one of them whisper, "Well, the kid's done the impossible."

Daniel led them a way's away to the small cherry blossom. He noticed that fall, almost winter, was setting in- most of the petals on the tree were wilting and falling to the ground, making the ground a colorful mess of green, pink, white, and brown. Daniel cleared a small area away for the pair to sit down on. Yang collapsed to the ground, arms going around her legs. They were still in their sleepwear they put on hours ago. "So," Yang said after sitting for a while, "Why are we here?"

Daniel let out a small grunt as he sat next to Yang. "Why'd you run?" he asked bluntly.

Yang scoffed. "Isn't it obvious?" she remarked, "My sister has cancer. Why shouldn't I run."

"Your sister has cancer; that's why you shouldn't run." Daniel shot back. He put an arm around Yang's shoulders. "Come on," he comforted, "Why'd you run?" Even though she hung her head low, Daniel could still see Yang's bottom lip quivering. "Come on." he coaxed, "Let it out."

Without warning, Yang broke down into a sobbing mess. She buried her face in Daniel's shoulder, bawling her eyes out. Daniel calmly pulled her in closer, patting down her blonde hair. After about five minutes of a nonstop flood of tears, Yang eventually pulled back, wiping her eyes. "How are you this calm?" she sniffled.

Daniel smiled grimly at Yang. "Don't get me wrong- I'm slowly going insane on the inside." he said, "But, we have to stay strong for Ruby's sake."

"What's the point." Yang muttered, pressing her head into her knees, "Even if she gets better, she can't live the life she wants." When Daniel didn't interrupt, she continued, "Ruby always wanted to be a Huntress, even before I decided that I wanted to. She's dedicated her entire life to this. Try and imagine when she realizes she worked so hard for nothing."

Daniel sighed, laying back on the grass, hands behind his head. "I know the feeling all too well." he admitted, "The feeling of looming dread. When you literally can't find an escape even when it's being dangled just out of arm's reach. So, yeah: I can definitely sympathize with Ruby right now. I went through it twice." He paused. "If you don't think I would rather be with my girlfriend right now, you're wrong. But, I still need to make sure she has everyone supporting her at this very moment, including you."

Yang looked up at Daniel with bloodshot eyes. "Do you know the first thing Ruby said after you left?" Daniel asked. Yang shook her head, prompting Daniel to say, "She said, 'At least I still have three of my friends'." Yang didn't say anything for a few heartbeats. Then, she once again burst into silent sobs. Daniel hugged her as she cried into her knees.

"I'm a horrible sister." Yang croaked, her voice mumbled by her knees.

"No, you aren't." Daniel gently coaxed, "You're a great sister that has her limits. There's a difference."

Yang was silent for a moment. "What about you?" she sniffled, "What are you going to do with my sister?"

Daniel frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Are you still going on the date with Ruby?" Yang implored looking up at Daniel.

Daniel looked at the sky in thought. "I honestly have no idea," he admitted.

"That's not good enough." Yang claimed, "I'll ask you another question: what are your feelings about Ruby?"

Daniel smiled at that. "That's pretty simple." he declared, "Your sister's amazing."

A pause. "Do you love her?" Yang asked suddenly.

Daniel looked at Yang in shock. "What?" he nearly shouted.

"Do you love Ruby?" Yang repeated.

Daniel breathed deeply. "I don't know." he stalled, not meeting Yang's eyes, "We've just hung out for a month at most."

Yang grabbed Daniel by the collar and pulled him down until he was inches away from Yang's face. "It's a simple yes or no question?" Yang nearly growled, "Do you love her?"

Daniel closed his eyes. "Do I really love her?" he wondered.

"Yes."

Yang blinked. "What?" she breathed.

"I love Ruby." Daniel proclaimed, staring at Yang with intense eyes full of happiness, "I can't imagine where I'd be without her."

Yang smiled as she rested her head against Daniel's shoulder. "Good." she sighed, "You can keep dating my baby sis."

"What would you have done if I said no?" Daniel implored.

"I would've stopped any and all dates between the two of you." Yang stated, "I can't have Ruby's heart broken right now. She's fragile enough as it is."

They sat in silence for another minute, enjoying the feeling of an elephant being lifted off their chests, no matter how minuscule it was. "We should go back," Daniel suggested, "I think they'd want us back."

"Alright, let's go back," Yang agreed, her voice slightly quivering at the prospect of seeing her sister so distraught. With shaking knees, she stood up and started to walk away. Before she took another few steps, she hesitated. Looking back, she questioned Daniel, "What did you mean by going through it twice? The looming dread, I mean."

Daniel sighed. "Do you really want to know?" he responded.

Yang made her way back, standing next to Daniel. "I'm sure." she reiterated.

Daniel once again pulled her down. This time, Yang was willing to hear out all of Daniel's speech. "I have to make you promise," he demanded, "no matter what, you do not share this story to anybody except Ruby. She's the only one that also knows about my past this in depth."

Yang nodded. "I won't," she vowed.

Daniel sighed as he mentally prepared for the onslaught of his past. "The one you know is when my team… died." Yang nodded at this. "Well," Daniel continued with bated breath, "this is the day I discovered my Semblance." his eyes clouded with memories, "It's also the day I lost my past."

* * *

 **My family and I grew up in Mistral. We had a good life. I had a great family. A great father I looked up to, an amazing older sister- Holly-, and the sweetest mom in the world. We weren't the richest or the most well-known, but we had our ties. We had our moments of glory.**

* * *

" _Mom!" A little boy's voice rang out, "Holly's hogging the swing again!"_

 _This was Daniel as a seven-year-old. He was a short boy with the same heterochronic blue and red eyes and the same windswept hair. His wings were much shorter, only going slightly past his elbows. Daniel ran up to a woman in a floral-patterned white dress._

 _The woman laughed. "I'm sure she was going to let you use it if you asked nicely," she replied, holding Daniel in a soft hug. This was Hazel Gotzon, Daniel's mother. Besides her faunus heritage, you wouldn't believe Hazel was Daniel's mother except for their personalities. She was a beautiful blonde woman with flowing hair, going down a bit farther past her shoulder blades. She carried the same red eye as Daniel, but her other one was a bright and lively hazel color. The surprising part of her was the rest of her faunus traits. While many have actual appendages from their animal counterparts, Hazel was a special case. Instead of wings, her arms developed feathers, going up and down the outsides of her arms like a harpy._

" _But mom," Daniel complained, "I did ask nicely. Holly's just being mean."_

" _Says you!" a high-pitched tone sounded behind them, "I was giving it up after another few swings, but no! You just had to tell mom." A small girl in a red blouse and jeans was running towards Daniel and his mom._

 _Holly Gotzon: Daniel's older sister. Even though she was barely less than a year older than poor Daniel, she was significantly taller, towering over him by about a head. Holly took almost all the genes from their mother: Blonde hair, sparkling brown eyes, tall cheekbones, and a radiant smile. The only thing she didn't take from her mother was her faunus nature. Hazel had better senses than average, but that was the extent to her heritage. She was the girl that people would look at and say, "Yep, you're definitely your mother's daughter."_

" _Holly," Hazel chided, "You have to be nicer and give your brother a turn. He was waiting for you to play on the seesaw with him."_

 _Holly's eyes brightened at this. "The seesaw? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She grabbed her brother's arm and roughly tugged him along back to the playground. "Come on, Daniel, let's go!" she exclaimed gleefully._

" _Watch the arm! Watch the arm!" Daniel repeated as he struggled to keep up with his sister._

 _Daniel's mother sighed almost in disbelief due to how hectic it was trying to get the pair to behave- one moment they were at each other's throats, the next, they would become inseparable and seemingly have the same mind. That mind usually thought about playing pranks and jokes on their parents. "One of these days, those two will become the death of me," Hazel claimed, sitting back on the bench that overlooked the playground._

 _A man next to her chuckled and threw an arm around her shoulders. "You might as well get used to it." he commented, "After all, they're in your life for another ten or so years."_

 _Hazel let out an exaggerated groan. "Don't remind me," she complained playfully, setting her head on the shoulder of the mysterious man. The mysterious man was Daniel's father, Merrick Gotzon. This is where Daniel got his looks. Black hair that went to the middle of his forehead, blue eyes, and a tall, stocky build. He was a kind but firm man, helping to run a Dust shop in the best part of town._

 _Merrick laughed at Hazel's response. "It can't be that bad, can it?" he asked._

" _I quit my job for this," Hazel responded, "and I'm still as stressed out as when I had my job."_

" _Is Daniel that bad?"_

" _No, it's Holly. Honestly, she's like a miniature you with my looks."_

 _Merrick laughed. "That should be fine, right?"_

 _Hazel groaned again and dramatically placed the back of her hand on her forehead. "She has your logic with the temperament of an eight-year-old," she explained._

" _Ouch." Merrick remarked, "You can't win any arguments with her, can you?"_

" _You don't know the half of it," Hazel mumbled, drawing another silent chuckle from Merrick._

* * *

 **Life was good. Unfortunately, our family lived in the midst of a White Fang movement, basically a war. By the time my parents wanted to leave, we were born. This is the day we moved. This is the day we were separated. For good.**

* * *

" _When I grow up, I want to be a doctor!" Hazel exclaimed._

 _It was the same day as they went to the park. Now, it was a few minutes after eight. The skies were clear besides the occasional Bullhead flying above. The Gotzon family was walking through a small town back to their house. The sidewalks were almost cleared beside the occasional person just leaving their businesses, the streets were crawling with cars, and street lights flickered in the moonlight, reflecting from display windows._

" _Oh yeah?" Daniel retorted, balancing on the curb, "I'm going to be a Hunter when I grow up."_

 _Merrick laughed as he held the hand of his wife. "Keep dreaming big, Daniel." he praised, "One day, you'll get there in your own time." Daniel looked behind himself and beamed at his dad._

" _Pshh," Hazel playfully scoffed, "That's dumb. Why fight when you could always help people?"_

" _It's not dumb!" Daniel protested. Hazel stuck out her tongue. "Hunters help people, too." Daniel continued, "Doctors only can help people that are hurt. Hunters and Huntresses can help everyone."_

" _Well said, Daniel." complimented Merrick, clasping a hand on his son's shoulder. He gave Daniel an approving and supportive smile, making Daniel beam back._

* * *

 **We had no warning. It was like they slept in the stores and came out at night, like rats coming out of the sewer.**

* * *

 _Suddenly, a loud explosion rang in the distance, shaking the ground around the family. When they regained their balance, they looked up and let out gasps and shrieks of horror- just a few blocks away, a fire was burning. Smoke poured into the night sky like a mass of darkness._

" _W-what happened?" Daniel stuttered, hiding behind his father._

" _Kids," Hazel stated in an even voice. Her eyes betrayed her true emotions, fear and dread swimming in her pupils. "Get back to the house."_

" _But mom-." Holly started to protest._

" _Now!" Hazel shouted, herding her children down a different path. In an instant, another bomb went off not a half block away from where they stood. At this point, sirens of police officials and the fire department were heard, growing closer and closer. People that were still on the streets were screaming, scattering and running for their lives. Through the streets. Through alleys. Even outside city borders and fleeing into the forest._

" _What's happening?!" Daniel shouted over the ruckus of people storming out of apartments and hotels._

" _The White Fang." was the only response Merrick gave as he ran alongside his children._

" _Who?" Daniel asked. A shop window shattered as a member of the White Fang crashed through it, sword at the ready._

" _Kids, go!" Merrick demanded, shoving Holly and Daniel ahead. He stopped and turned towards the member. "Why are you here?" he shouted, another bomb going off in the distance, "Why are you doing this?"_

" _The faunus race has gone on long enough with your discrimination." the man claimed. He raised his sword, pointing it at Merrick. "You'll be an example."_

" _You can try." Merrick snarled, sprinting down an alleyway. The faunus ran after him._

" _Dad!" Holly and Daniel screamed, trying to run back towards where their father had gone. But, Hazel had a firm grasp on the two children, tears streaming down all their faces. "Let me go!" Daniel shrieked, struggling in his mom's hold._

" _Daniel." his mother said, her tone firm. She never used this tone. Not even when Holly "accidentally" stole a horse from a stable. "Your father wants you to go. So, go!"_

* * *

 **My father was the first to go. After he ran into that alley, we didn't see him for a long time. By the time the chaos was over, the officials found his body mutilated. The only reason they knew it was him was the fact that he still had his wallet. They didn't take his money. They only wanted his life. A human's life.**

* * *

 _Daniel and Holly were sobbing as Hazel essentially dragged them along. They were all half jogging, half leaning against each other as they almost made it to the city limits. Blockades were already being set up with the police and military slowly combing the streets. All they had to do was make it another few blocks._

" _It's okay, guys," Hazel said wearily. "We're almost there." This gave them a small boost in energy as they quickened their pace by a narrow margin._

 _Just then, a White Fang member bolted from the corner of a block, the police in hot pursuit. Shots rang from the policemen as the White Fang member narrowly avoided most shots. Some scraped just parts of his skin while most only snagged the black clothes he wore._

" _Oh, shit." one of the policemen cursed, "Hold your fire! Civilians in the street. I said, hold your fire!"_

 _Taking his opportunity, the masked faunus sprinted towards the family. Hazel tried to usher her children towards an alley, but she was too slow. The faunus grabbed her by the collar of her dress and yanked her back, locking his arm around her neck. Hazel struggled up until the point where a gun was aimed at her temple. "Stop the chase or I'll shoot!" the White Fang member shouted towards the cops._

" _Surround him." the policeman whispered to his partner, "Cut off the block."_

" _We can't do that." his partner hissed back, "We don't have enough people."_

 _The man cursed as the White Fang member slowly backed away, growing smaller and smaller in their vision. "He won't kill her unless he's provoked." the policeman commented, "No White Fang scum would kill a faunus in cold blood."_

 _The White Fang member, meanwhile, was debating his options. As he was about to make his getaway, Holly popped out from the shadows. "Get away from my mom!" she shouted, sprinting at the man. Startled, the man removed the gun from Hazel's head and pointed it at Holly._

* * *

 **Holly was the other one that went. She was always too hard headed, never taking no for an answer. The man didn't care if she was a child- nobody in the White Fang cares. They only care if you're faunus or not, and Holly didn't look like one.**

* * *

" _Stop!" he growled. But Holly was blinded by grief and deaf thanks to the roaring blood in her ears. Without a second thought, the man shot Holly right below the ribs when she was just out of her mom's reach._

 _Time seemed to stop for Daniel. In those moments, his brain went both into overdrive and shut down completely. He noticed his mother's horrorstruck expression. The cops' shocked to their cores. And the man in black. Daniel could recall every detail about his clothes, from the patterns on his mask to the style of red hair that spiked up, but he couldn't explain how he felt about himself or what he felt at that moment. It was just numb._

 _Even though the top of his face was covered by a Grimm mask, the man's mouth made the shape of an 'O', realizing what, or who, he just shot. A kid. A kid that wanted her mother back. In return, she got a bullet to the chest for wanting something she always had._

" _HOLLY!" Daniel screamed, running towards the collapsed girl. No one but Daniel moved. The police didn't shoot, Hazel didn't run, and the White Fang member stood silently. "Holly!" he shouted again, kneeling next to his sister, "Come on, you're going to be fine."_

 _Holly let out a strangled breath, staring at her brother in shock. "Am… What… Daniel…"_

" _Holly, you're going to be fine." he insisted, trying to convince himself as well. Turning towards the police, he shouted, "Help! Please, help! Is there a doctor over there?!" Silence, "ANSWER ME! PLEASE!" When no person stepped up, Daniel collapsed into sobs. "You're not dying. You're not," he repeated over and over again, holding Holly's head close to his chest._

" _Dad?" Holly asked, eyes glazing over. Her breathing almost halted to a dead stop._

" _No. No." Daniel sobbed, his words interrupted by hiccups. He stared at his hands, covered in Holly's blood. They shook with rage. Rage that would burst at the slightest trigger. "You." he growled, seemingly to himself, "You did this." Daniel's hands started glowing a pitch black, shadows seemingly rolling off his hands. He glared at the man still holding his mom, eyes wide with fury. "I'LL KILL YOU!" he shouted, leaving Holly and running towards the man in a dead sprint._

 _The White Fang member had no time to react. One moment, Daniel was by Holly's side. The next, the man found an icicle of blood being jammed through his mask, into his eye. He yelled in pain, releasing Hazel from his grasp._

 _The next few moments were filled with even more chaos. Daniel chased the man for a few steps before his legs gave way from exhaustion. Hazel collapsed next to her daughter, whispering sweet nothings to her as Holly fought for each breath. The police finally gathered their wits and, with the civilians off to the side of the street, opened fire on the man._

" _Adam!" a new voice rang out. The White Fang member looked up towards the rooftops, spotting a girl in similar clothes as him, but with a mask of a Nevermore. "This way!" the girl yelled, pointing behind her. The man nodded and bolted down an alley, the girl helping his way from above._

" _NO!" Daniel yelled in despair and anger, pounding his fist against the pavement. "That's not fair!" he cried, tears once again flowing as freely as a stream. He then realized who was still left. "Holly!" he screamed, trying to turn around. He saw his mom sitting next to his sister, the former crying openly and freely._

 _Suddenly, an arm wrapped around his torso and hoisted him up on the person's shoulder. Craning his neck, he saw the top of a police hat. "Let me go!" he demanded, struggling against the cop's hold. The cop walked past Hazel and Holly, back towards the mass of cops on the other side of the street. "Wait, my sister's there. Take me back… Take me back! TAKE ME BACK!" He repeated that phrase until his voice became broken and his throat felt raw. The same thing was happening to Hazel- four or five officers restrained her from rushing over to her child. A woman in a police uniform took Holly in her arms and walked past the group, towards the city edges._ _Daniel's mind finally collapsed as he couldn't accept anything else the day brought him. Nothing was right, but it was all somehow still the truth: the thing he hated at that moment._

* * *

"And that's my story." Daniel finished, eyes filled with tears, "Now you know why I don't tell it."

Yang continued to sit there, flabbergasted and horrified. "I-I," she stuttered, "I don't know what to say…"

"Then don't say anything." Daniel advised, wiping away his tears, "I've had nine years to recover from it- I really don't want to be pampered right now."

This time, it was Yang holding Daniel as he silently wept. Her tone as she whispered comforting thoughts into his ear, but Yang was still stunned by the new revelation. It was about half a minute later when Daniel pulled away. "Let's go." he advised, wiping his eyes and standing up, "Ruby probably wants us back."

Daniel offered a hand to Yang which she pushed away. "You go on ahead." she told him, "I'll catch up in a minute."

Daniel shrugged and went down to the base of the hill to wait for Yang. Meanwhile, Yang was hyperventilating. " _Adam._ " she thought, " _A girl that warned him. Oh, lord, was that Blake?_ "

Yang shakily stood up and made her way down to walk back with Daniel, putting on a fake, sad smile. Daniel smiled back. "Thanks for trusting me with my secret." he conceded, "You don't know how much I wanted to get that off my chest."

It took all of Yang's willpower not to blurt out the first thing that came to her mind. "Sure." she gulped, "Always for a friend, right?"

Daniel's expression slightly softened. "For a friend, right." he agreed, turning around and making his way back to the hospital.

Yang followed him with a heavy heart. " _Who do I trust more?_ " she asked herself, " _Blake or Daniel?_ "

" _Blake, of course."_ she responded, walking side by side with Daniel.

 _"But Daniel just poured his heart out to you."_

 _"Blake's your partner!"_ she argued.

 _"Daniel's the closest friend you have right now."_ the other side argued.

It all came down to the key questions: _"Who do you trust more?"_

 _"Which one do you want to trust you: Blake or Daniel?"_

 _"Can you keep a secret this big?"_ Yang shivered as she walked next to the biggest "what if" in her life.

 **AN: Yep. That just happened.**

 **Hey guys, firflame here. Now you know. You now know the truth behind my story. This is my greatest piece of writing to date, and I'm scared of it. It took me so long to write this- a good three months just to make Daniel's backstory just right. And yet, I was scared of actually posting this. You do not know how hard it was for me to write a few of the scenes down, let alone finish the chapter. This is just the beginning, but it also might be the end of the story to you guys.**

 **You remember Kaylee? The one I dedicated this story to? She has leukemia. Long-time friend- we've been going to the same school since Kindergarten. To be honest, I haven't seen her since middle school. She was the kindest person and had the best type of humor in my school, at least to me. I'm sorta dedicating this to her, even if she isn't a fan of RWBY.**

 **People commented on how this was the sweetest story they'd read in a long time. It's not supposed to be as sweet as you think. I believe in a very delicate balance between good and evil. Happiness and suffering. Pain and Joy. That's why I changed this to Romance instead of Adventure. I had half a mind to change it to Romance/Tragedy, but I'm still not sure if I really want to make it a tragedy instead of a hurt/comfort story. Don't worry, it's not just doom and gloom from here on out- I still need to bring back some love into this story.**

 **In any case, I'm sorry for the feelings you guys may have, but I don't have any regrets. Comment on where you think my weakest points are, but if you try and say that the worst part of the story is how horrible I treat the characters, I'll laugh and realize that I got you attached to this story.**

 **Oh, before I forget, the names I created are color-based.**

 **Merrick Gotzon: Welsh with a vague meaning for dark.**

 **Dr. Char Treuse: Play on words for Chartreuse, the color.**

 **Bianca Kent: Both mean white in Italian and Welsh respectively.**

 **Hazel Gotzon: self-explanatory.**

 **Holly Gotzon: same as Hazel- self-explanatory.**


	15. Chapter 14: Time to Fill a Time Gap

**Wow, I actually didn't think that… well, I don't know what to think. You all destroyed last chapter- 12 reviews and 1700 views in the less than 48 hours. No exaggeration. Oh yeah, I found a pretty good quote for this story. If I find more, I'll tack them onto the beginnings of each chapter.**

 **Anyways, welcome back to Wilting Rose, my friends! What will I do next? Yang's death, Cinder's return, introduce even more OCs, or-. Oh, wait, I have to stay in my own timeline? Fine, I guess I'll go with that… Everyone's safe for another chapter, let out your breaths.**

 **Disclaimer: I have no ownership of RWBY. If I did, well… you read last chapter. Rooster Teeth would have an angry mob outside their door if this actually happened in the canon.**

" _You think that because you are sitting where you are, and I am sitting where I am, that you are in control of what is about to happen. You are mistaken. I am in control. Because I know things you don't." -Imitation Game_

Chapter 14: Let's Fill in the Blanks, Shall We?

Yang and Daniel walked back into the hospital, both outwardly calmer than they were an hour ago. The nurse looked up from her desk with a bored expression. "Visitor hours are over." she stated, "You can come back tomorrow morning."

Yang took out her Scroll as Daniel started debating with the nurse. "Our friends are all up there!" he argued.

The nurse scoffed, "Then they shouldn't be up there, either."

This went back and forth for a minute before Professor Ozpin walked down the hallways behind the nurse. Turning to the noise, the nurse's face lit up with surprise. "Oh, Professor Ozpin." she exclaimed, "What are you here for?"

"I was told that one of my students has a life-threatening condition." he stated seriously, "I was here to ensure her treatment would run smoothly and effectively." Ozpin turned to the two teenagers. "Come. I believe Miss Rose has been waiting for long enough," he commented, turning around.

"Sir," the nurse protested, "You can't-."

"Oh, this won't take long." he promised, looking over his shoulder, "And in any case, it's better for the patient to have the most support her or she can get, is it not?"

"Well," the nurse relented, "I can allow you a five-minute leniency."

"Excellent." Ozpin replied, "And if there is nothing else…" He walked forward, beckoning the other two to join them.

Yang dragged a confused Daniel through the halls, shooting the nurse a smug look. "You had something to do with Ozpin's appearance, didn't you?" Daniel questioned, amused.

Yang gave Daniel a small, conceited look. She pulled out her Scroll again. "Blake got us through," she explained with a smile.

Daniel shook his head, but a smile still graced his lips. "You people are insane," he chuckled.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Yang beamed. She stopped suddenly, making Daniel almost crash into her.

"What's the holdup?" Daniel chattered, looking annoyed with Yang. Then, he noticed Yang's somber expression. He then looked at where they stopped. "Oh," he breathed, looking at the oak door leading to Ruby's room. Daniel let out a deep breath. "Well, there's no reason to wait." he managed to choke out, opening the door.

When the pair walked in, they noticed Ruby's curled up form at the head of the bed. Weiss and Blake both had an arm around Ruby's shoulders, continuing to comfort her long after Daniel asked. At the sound of the door opening, the three girls looked up. Ruby stared at Yang with blank eyes before breaking down into tears. From the looks of the waste basket filled with tissues, it wasn't the first time for this night.

Yang quickly made her way over to Ruby, holding her in a tight embrace. She rocked her back and forth, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. "I thought you left," Ruby whispered, burying her face into the nape of Yang's neck.

"No, no, no," Yang gently insisted, "I was just shocked. My world got turned upside down in a few minutes. I'm sorry for leaving you." Yang then nuzzled her sister's hair.

It was a few minutes of this touching scene until Ruby finally decided to break it. She pulled away, and Yang gladly sat next to her, still giving Ruby a half-hug. Ruby and Daniel, who was awkwardly shuffling on the side, locked eyes. Daniel gave Ruby an encouraging smile, but Ruby looked at her shoes with a sudden interest.

Ruby and Daniel spoke at the same time. "So I was wondering if-." went Daniel.

"It's okay if you don't-." Ruby began.

They both stopped suddenly, red-faced. The other three teens snickered silently. Even Ozpin let out a small twitch of the corner of his mouth, watching the two clueless individuals. "I should probably start." Daniel suggested, "I think I'll answer your comment."

Ruby swung her legs freely. She bit her lip to the point of almost drawing blood. "If you don't want to date me anymore, that's fine," she said in a whisper.

Daniel smiled softly, pulling up a chair and sitting directly in front of Ruby. "Not gonna happen," he claimed. He took her hands in his, a blush forming on both of their faces. "I was going to ask you if the beach was a good place."

Ruby blinked in confusion. "What?" she asked.

"The beach." Daniel repeated, "You know, where we touched down during your birthday?"

"Um," Ruby stalled, "For what, exactly?"

Daniel looked at Ruby with a bright smile. "For our date. What else?"

Ruby stared at Daniel with hopeful eyes. "You… you still want to go on the date?" she sputtered.

"I'm sure," Daniel reiterated.

That was too much for Ruby. She dissolved into tears, this time of happiness and relief. Daniel caught her in a tight hug, a sad smile playing on his lips. Yang clapped him on the back encouragingly, joining in on the hug. "I thought you would've left," Ruby sniffled.

Daniel pulled back to stare into Ruby's watery silver orbs that were her eyes. "I'm always going to stay by your side. You won't be leaving me anytime soon."

"Promise?" Ruby pleaded, bottom lip quivering.

Daniel planted a small kiss in the middle of her forehead. "I promise," he vowed, dragging Ruby back into another hug. She obliged without hesitation.

A small cough from the doorway interrupted their moment. "I'm sorry to say this," the nurse from earlier began, "but your five minutes are up."

The trio on the bed reluctantly pulled away, looking sheepishly at the nurse. Ozpin gave the nurse a small nod of thanks. "We will be on our way, now." he replied, "Thank you."

Daniel kept his arm around Ruby's waist for the entirety of the walk out the doors. "So," he drawled, "How are we going to tell Team JNPR?"

The others froze. Daniel turned to them, looking at their slightly frightful expressions. "I guess no one thought of that, huh?" he assumed.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there," Blake suggested.

"Here, here." Yang agreed.

"I can't imagine what their reactions are going to be…" Weiss contributed.

"You shouldn't have to." Ruby muttered, uncharacteristically dark, "This shouldn't have happened."

Daniel frowned at her comment. "Hey, it isn't the end of the world. If I've learned one thing about you, it's that you're a trooper; you'll fight through it."

"It is to me." Ruby grumbled, "I always wanted to be the hero in my story, not the fair maiden." She spat the end bitterly.

Daniel ruffled her hair affectionately. "How about you be the genius that invents everything?" he suggested, "I mean, you did create Crescent Rose."

Ruby tilted up head in thought. "I did do that, didn't I?" she wondered.

"That's the spirit!" Daniel encouraged his girlfriend.

"But it's not the same!" Ruby complained, "You guys get all the action!"

"And you get the satisfaction that your inventions are used in the field." Daniel offered.

This argument went on, and, before they knew it, they arrived back at their room. "Enough, already!" Weiss exploded, "Ruby, you're going to be fine. Daniel's just calling you a genius, case closed. Daniel… just stop arguing!"

Yang opened their door, immediately collapsing on her bed. "I just want to forget this day ever happened," she commented, her voice muffled by her pillow.

"Yeah," Daniel said, sitting on a chair, "I think we can all agree to that."

Team RWBY all looked at Daniel imploringly for a few seconds. "What?!" Daniel questioned.

"Are you going to leave?" Blake asked.

Daniel snorted. "If you think I'm leaving my girlfriend after what happened tonight," he retorted, "you're crazy."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Not going to happen."

Yang let out a deep sigh. "Oh, let him stay." she relented, "We can keep him in check."

Blake raised an eyebrow at the fiery blonde. "Are you sure?" she inquired, "He is most likely going to sleep with Ruby."

"He is in the room with you." Daniel said, rolling his eyes in exasperation, "Look, it won't be weird."

Yang let out a dramatic cough fit. "Clueless," she said in between coughs.

Ruby hopped onto her bed. "You don't really have to stay because of me," she said in almost a whisper.

Daniel smiled lopsidedly. "Not because of you, _for_ you." Ruby blushed a deep red. Daniel then had a small revelation. "Ruby," he began, "is that really your bed?"

"Yep," Ruby answered, patting the frame of the bed.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "And that's safe… how?"

Weiss threw her hands up into the air. "Thank you!" she boomed.

"Hey, it gets the job done!" Ruby defended.

"For a person of your size, maybe." Daniel shot back, "Here, I'll make a small improvement." He climbed onto the edge of Weiss's bed for a bit of height, placing his hands against one of the legs on Ruby's bed. Using his Semblance, he made a few… modifications on Ruby's bed.

Instead of teetering dangerously, suspended by a couple of flimsy ropes, the legs of the bed protruded up instead of down, going through and attaching to the ceiling. "There," Daniel proclaimed, smacking the palms of his hands together like he was dusting them off, "That's better."

"But, it doesn't sway!" Ruby complained meekly.

Without warning, Weiss tackled Daniel in a hug, almost toppling him over into the bed frame. "Thank you," she started, "I no longer have to fear for my life every time I want to sleep."

"Hey, it wasn't that bad!" Ruby whined.

Yang couldn't help but make a small verbal jab at Weiss. "Look at you, trying to make a move on Ruby's man!" she teased.

Weiss blushed lightly as she quickly let go of Daniel. "Of course your brain would immediately go there." she huffed.

"I don't know, Weiss." Daniel joined in with a smirk, "I mean, I am that awesome." This earned Daniel a quick but firm smack on the back of the head. "I deserve that," he chuckled.

"Can we please just go to sleep, now?" Ruby complained.

"I second that," Blake added, already under her covers.

Daniel hoisted himself up onto Ruby's bed. "Move over," he told her. Ruby obliged, letting Daniel lay down wrapping his arms around Ruby's waist. Ruby snuggled against Daniel's chest, curling up into a small ball as Daniel's wings made a great substitute for a blanket.

"'Night, Team RWBY," Ruby called out. "G'night, Daniel," she whispered, nuzzling her face into the fabric of Daniel's shirt.

Daniel grinned as he started to fall unconscious. "Night, Rubes," he said, giving the top of Ruby's head a small kiss.

 **-xX-Line Break-Xx-**

Morning came a bit too quickly for everyone. Yang was the first up in her team, stretching her arms above her head and heaving a mighty yawn. Glancing to the side, Yang almost fell out of her bed when she saw Daniel's back turned towards her instead of her sister. Then, she remembered the events of last night. "I was hoping that was just a bad dream," Yang thought bitterly.

She couldn't help but feel a bit of pride and happiness, though, when she glanced at Daniel still cuddling with Ruby. "He's going to follow through with his promise," she concluded. Yang gently hopped down and shook Blake awake. "Come on, Kitty cat," Yang teased as a greeting, "Up and at 'em!"

Blake batted her hand away from her shoulder, turning over. "Not today." she murmured, trying to fall back asleep.

Yang smirked as she leaned in close to her exposed ear (The human one, not the Faunus one) and whispered, "Who wants to watch Daniel and Ruby flustered yet again, this time in the same bed?"

Both pairs of Blake's ears twitched as she sat up with sudden interest. She looked at the crow wings still present on Ruby's bed and smiled. "I'm listening…" she told Yang.

"Not yet," Yang said with a smirk, "We still have one other person to wake." Yang made her way over to Weiss's bed, staring down at the sleeping figure with a sleep mask on. "Wakey, wakey, Weissy!" she said in a singsong voice.

Weiss grumbled something inaudible before turning over. "Ruby and Daniel are still sleeping together." Blake bluntly stated, a smile still present on her face.

Weiss flailed around into an upright position to peer over the edge of the bed above her. She couldn't help but giggle at Ruby and Daniel, cuddling together. "I know, right?" Yang squealed, "It's so _cute_!"

"It's a shame we have to wake them up." Weiss snickered, poking Daniel softly in the back. Daniel shifted slightly before settling down with a sigh.

"Hold on," Yang quietly squeaked, "I'll get the bucket." She quietly took off to the bathroom, her steps making no noise.

Meanwhile, from Ruby's bed's perspective, she was in nirvana. Ruby was curled up against Daniel's chest, legs wrapping around his. Daniel's arm was making a conveniently comfy pillow for Ruby as his other arm draped over Ruby's waist. Daniel woke up to Weiss's prod, listening to the three girls giggle like… well, schoolgirls. He looked down and smiled as the small bundle that was Ruby start to stir. "Good morning, Ruby." Daniel greeted with a smile.

"No…" Ruby groaned softly, fisting Daniel's t-shirt and sinking into Daniel's embrace. "But it's nice here…" Ruby said, muffled by the fabric.

Daniel silently laughed, not to draw attention to the pranksters. "Your sister's trying water again," he whispered in a sing-song voice.

Ruby's ears perked. "The bucket?" she asked.

Daniel replied, "The bucket." He was silent as the pair of them heard water sloshing around down the halls. "Now, help me listen to where Yang is."

The door to their room opened, now making the splashes of the water in the plastic pail even louder. "Oh, Ruby!" Yang quietly sang, "Rise and shine!"

"No…" Ruby moaned, this time loud enough for everyone to hear.

The three that were "already" awake almost melted into another fit of laughter. "I have another bucket!" Yang stated smugly, standing on the nightstand, eye-level with the bed. She hoisted the pail of water over her head menacingly.

"Yang at 6 'o' clock sharp," Ruby whispered excitedly, "Right between your shoulder blades."

"One last chance!" Yang sang again. She started tipping the bucket over, the water not yet reaching the rim.

Daniel tucked his head in so his nose was touching the top of Ruby's head. He smirked. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed loudly.

Daniel's wing not under the pair of them shot backward, whapping Yang to give her a face full of feathers. This was so sudden and unprecedented that Yang didn't have time to prepare, making her wobble dangerously on the nightstand. "Whoa!" Yang shouted, losing her balance and falling to the floor. While she was dazed, the bucket fell on Yang's head, drenching her and the floor around her with water, amazingly missing the majority of Weiss and Blake's sheets. It comically spun on Yang's head in a cartoonish manner.

Everyone but Yang dissolved into rancorous laughter. Daniel and Ruby peered over the edge to be greeted in a dripping wet Yang. Blake was on the floor, barely managing to take in gulps of air between laughs while banging on the floor with her fists. Weiss was supporting herself on one of the desks on the far side of the room, holding her sides that were aching with her snickers and gasps. "I can't!" Weiss cried, hunched over, "This is too much!" And then she collapsed into hysterics yet again.

Yang chuckled as she lifted the bucket off her head. "I'll give you that one, Danny Boy," she commented, "Nice turnaround."

"Hey, hey, Yang." Daniel called out, tears starting to form, "'Water' you doing down there?" He cracked up a bit harder than before after the horrible pun.

Everyone else groaned through their laughs, even, surprisingly, Yang. "First you take my sister," she grumbled lightheartedly, "then my pranks, and now my jokes. Is nothing sacred to you?!"

"Yeah," Daniel shot back with a smirk. "Your sister is," was his answer, kissing the top of Ruby's head, making her blush.

Yang sighed with a grin on her face. "Touché, Daniel," she complimented, "Good answer. Nice catch."

A knock was heard on the door. "Guys?" Jaune's voice was muffled by the closed door, "You okay in there? We heard a pretty bad crash."

"We're okay!" Yang shouted back, "It's safe to come in."

"That's not a good sign," Jaune commented dryly as he opened the door. When he opened the door, the Huntsman was greeted with an amusing sight. Two girls were on the floor in tears, smiles prevalent on their faces, another one was on the ground, dripping wet with a bucket next to her, and the final one was cuddling with a teenager. "Should I even-?"

"Probably not," Pyrrha interrupted, walking in from behind Jaune. She giggled as she stared at Yang on the ground. "That's certainly a way to wake up," she commented.

Ruby giggled as she sat up, swinging her legs over the side. "She almost got us with the bucket." Ruby responded with a smug look, "Finally, one of Yang's pranks has been reversed!"

Jaune stared at Ruby and, more importantly, the figure that was still looking at Yang from Ruby's bed. He put a hand on his mouth from blurting out something he might regret before composing himself. "You two…" he finally remarked, "Together for the night… And Yang was fine with this?"

Daniel smiled as he sat up, throwing an arm around Ruby's waist as she leaned against his shoulder. "More like it was better than the alternative."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, but a small, impish smile still lingered. "And why's that?" she playfully asked.

The mood sobered quickly after that. Daniel pulled Ruby into a much-needed hug while the other girls hung their heads. "Because of what the doctors said," Yang replied in a small voice.

Jaune and Pyrrha both felt the gloomy atmosphere. "And that is…?" Jaune ventured hesitantly.

"Cancer," Ruby answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

You could hear a pin drop from Ozpin's desk in Team RWBY's Room. The sudden silence was deafening. "I-I'm sorry," Pyrrha sputtered, a look of shock on her face, "What?"

Ruby sighed as she pulled herself away from Daniel's chest. "They said I had barely a year to live."

Pyrrha gasped in shock, tears forming on more than her set of eyes. She silently sobbed, crashing into Jaune for comfort. While he was in a state of shock, Jaune managed to stay upright and give a comforting hug for Pyrrha. "You'll fight through it." Jaune stated, "You always do with everything else." His tone sounded more like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

Ruby sighed as she flopped back. "I just can't believe it." she admitted, "One day, the worst thing that could happen is an 'F' on a test. The next, you're apparently fighting for your life, but it's not with Grimm."

No one really knew how to respond to that. Thankfully, Team RWBY's scrolls all rang simultaneously. Weiss, being the closest to her device, got up and read the message. "It's from Professor Ozpin." she reported, "He wants us at his office as soon as possible."

"Gee, I wonder why that could be." Yang drawled sarcastically, finally getting up.

Jaune grimaced as their entire team had that aura of slight anger and sadness mixed in with fear and speculation. "So…" he started, "We'll see you at breakfast?" His statement sounded more like a question than a declaration.

Ruby shrugged as she hopped off her bed. "Maybe," she replied, trudging slowly towards the closet.

Jaune started shuffling awkwardly before Pyrrha pulled him away and out the door, ready to spread the bad news to their team.

Yang started to pull her shirt over her head before she thought better. "Um, Daniel?" she called out.

"Yeah?" Daniel responded, swinging his legs from where he sat.

"Mind if you get out of our room for now?" Yang asked. Then, she smirked deviously. "I get it that you want to see your girlfriend change, but watching all of us is a step too far, don't cha think?"

Daniel's face starting burning up at that thought. "I-I'll go see myself out the door." he stammered, quickly making his way to the exit.

Once the door shut, Yang laughed. "Too easy," she commented, going back to putting on her clothes.

Once all of Team RWBY was properly dressed, they made their way to the elevator that led to Ozpin's office. No one spoke a word, uncharacteristic for the lot. The doors opened with a small 'Ding!', showing Ozpin calmly sitting at his desk. "Ah, Team RWBY," Ozpin greeted, "Nice of you to be up this early."

The four girls stepped forward, with Ruby trembling in fear and anticipation at the same time. "What did you want us up here for, Headmaster?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin got in his signature "deep thought" look, palming a fist in front of his mouth as he leaned forward on his elbows. "Ruby's condition puts us in an… awkward position, to say the least," he stated.

Weiss stepped forward. "What can we do to help?" she offered, "Supplies? Financial support?"

Ozpin waved her off. "We still have two people coming before we can get into the specifics."

The girls all narrowed their eyes in confusion. "Who else is coming?"

At that moment, the doors to the elevator opened again, and Daniel came walking out. "Sorry, Headmaster Ozpin." he apologized, "I was-."

"Daniel?!" Team RWBY exclaimed, surprise. "What are you doing here?" Yang continued for them.

Daniel held up his scroll as an answer. "I was called up here by Ozpin," he replied calmly. He turned towards the man at the desk. "Why am I here, though?" he asked, emphasizing the 'am'.

"Team complications." Ozpin gave the easy answer, "You see, Miss Rose's condition is not supposed to happen. However, it has, and Beacon cannot exactly accept and let students pass if they are unfit to be a part of this school, whether it be academic or physical. So, I'm sorry to say that Miss Ruby Rose is no longer able to become a Huntress."

Ruby's heart stopped for a good second. "There- there has to be a mistake." she stammered, "I was good enough to get put ahead two whole years. Surely that's enough?"

Ozpin shook his head. "That would be my fault." he admitted, "I did not take into consideration genetic diseases when looking through your records. The best I can offer you is payment for the majority of your treatment and a letter of recommendation to any job you want."

Ruby's legs finally collapsed as she fell in a heap of defeat. Before anyone could start protesting in anger, a new person spoke up. "That isn't entirely true, Headmaster," a voice sounded from the elevators.

The five teenagers turned around to find Dr. Treuse back in their lives. "Ah, Dr. Treuse." Ozpin started, "I take it you bring good news?"

"More like hopeful news." Dr. Treuse responded, "Ruby Rose could take the easy way out and take the regular option, sticking her in an unpredictable future. But, she does have a second option."

"A second option?" Ruby croaked hopefully, looking up at the doctor.

"There's a clinical trial going on that may be what we need." Dr. Treuse continued rather hesitantly, "We do have a gastroenterologist that does have a Semblance that may fit Ruby's needs. However, I must warn you that the chances of success are rather slim."

"Can you give us a percent?" Ozpin inquired.

"On average, we have about a 66% chance of saving a regular person with the original method." the doctor answered, "This drops to about a 50% chance with Ruby, and to about a 7% chance with the clinical trial."

"No." Yang responded firmly, "Absolutely not. My sister is living whether you want her to or not. I don't care if it completely fixes her, you can't give Ruby that slim of a chance when there are better options!"

"Unfortunately," Dr. Treuse shot back, "This isn't your disease to fight." Yang flinched slightly at the sudden coldness of her tone. "It's up to Miss Rose to decide what she wants. Both options will be covered majorly by Beacon and Headmaster Ozpin, so don't take any financial issues into account."

Everyone present looked at Ruby expectantly. Yang's eyes pleaded for Ruby to make the sensible choice while everyone else didn't know what they wanted for the little red reaper. "I'll do it." Ruby said in a whisper, "I'll take the trial."

Dr. Treuse looked at Ruby with a slightly surprised expression. "Are you sure, Ruby?" she asked, "This is a risk you're willing to take?"

"Just sign me up before I can change my mind," Ruby responded, rubbing her temples like she had a headache.

Dr. Treuse nodded before making a note on her scroll. "Very well," she confirmed, "I'll see to it that you get your treatment plan before the week is out." And with that, the good doctor bid her goodbyes and walked out to the elevator.

An awkward silence fell after that. "Well, I guess we're done with the planning part of it," Yang commented, hanging her head low.

"We're not quite yet done, Miss Xiao Long." Ozpin stated, "Right now, Ruby Rose is unfit to be a team leader. I will not pull her out of our curriculum, nor will I pull her out of Beacon. I will, however, need to pull her out of the field of being a Huntress on doctor's orders. This leaves us with our predicament now."

Ozpin let out a deep sigh. "Without Ruby, Team RWBY is, for all intents and purposes, incomplete and therefore nulled." The four girls sucked in deep breaths, waiting for Ozpin to continue. "There is, however, a replacement available that could make it best for the majority of us." Ozpin looked up expectantly to the last teen. "A lone wolf, of some sort. One that does have experience in leading a team."

"Sir," Daniel protested, "You can't mean-."

"Unfortunately, I do." Ozpin relented, "For Team RWBY to continue, I must change it a little. Since Daniel must join, your official name is now Team DWBY (Dewberry)."

The former members of Team RWBY were now standing with angry expressions, their mouths open, ready to tear down Ozpin at the slightest trigger. "No, I won't accept this… this… charity!" Daniel shouted.

Ozpin gave Daniel a sympathetic look. "This isn't about charity or catering your needs," Ozpin reassured, "It's about letting the future of four young girls stay intact. If Team RWBY is officially disbanded, these individuals are no longer allowed to combine together again, mainly due to complications people may have had originally. That means, if you do not take this, Team RWBY will no longer exist. Ever again. With you agreeing, I am allowed to put this team… on hold, if you would. This means I am not allowed to ban them, and the Council has no say over this matter."

Daniel hesitated at this. "So, if Ruby was cured…"

"Then she could regain her position as team leader," Ozpin reassured, "All I am suggesting is that you become a sort of 'placeholder' for this new team. That way, the rules do not interfere with your team."

Daniel looked at the others a part of this decision. Weiss, Yang, and Blake all shared a look before nodding. "There's no catch?" Daniel implored.

Ozpin shrugged. "Other than the fact that Miss Rose has been put into a position like this, no." he reiterated.

"Why are you doing this for us?" Daniel asked suddenly, out of the blue, "I mean, I get that Ruby has her condition, but why are you suddenly so interested?"

Instead of answering him directly, Ozpin turned around in his chair, his back now facing the students. "Perhaps I feel somewhat responsible for bringing you two up a few levels." Ozpin said in wonder, "Or it could be that it's better for the common good. Either way, why does it matter?"

Daniel sighed. "I'd rather have this happen out of logic than pity," he admitted.

"A valuable virtue for a Huntsman." Ozpin commented, turning back towards him, "This is why I put the effort in bringing not only the brightest or strongest here but also the ones with the most spirit." Daniel was silent for a few more seconds, mulling over the two options. "Pick the one you believe that is best." Ozpin urged.

"I'll join their team." Daniel finally said. "If they let me," he added on after a second thought, looking at the three girls in approval.

"Sure."

"Why not?"

"I see no fault."

"I assume this matter is settled?" Ozpin assumed with a smirk. The students nodded in quick succession. "Good, because I would also like to address Miss Rose's condition." He turned to their youngest member, "You are to maintain your regular schedule," Ozpin continued, "with the exception of Combat Class. I will send your scroll a schedule of your treatment times. This may be once a week or as frequent as every other day, depending on how fast your Semblance acts. One last thing: under no circumstances other than life-threatening are you to use your Semblance willingly."

"What!?" Ruby protested.

"Dr. Treuse contacted me about your Semblance's role." Ozpin explained, "If you continue this use, it will increase the rate on how fast your cancer grows, also increasing your symptoms. If you continued to attend Professor Goodwitch's class, she predicts that you wouldn't last a minute without having the urge to throw up after a single class."

Ruby managed to pale even further. "I'll keep that in mind." she meekly noted.

Ozpin let out an irritated huff. "I believe that's all I have to say." He took a glance at the clock in the corner of the tower. "Breakfast is about to end." Ozpin commented, "You should join the rest of your friends before your weekend starts."

Team DWBY and Ruby ( **AN: Dang, that's going to take some time getting used to** ) all nodded and started down the elevator. "Well, that was eventful," Daniel commented with a sigh.

Yang leaned against the back rail. "You're telling me." she groaned. "So, team leader," Yang sarcastically addressed Daniel, "what are we going to do now?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow at her. "What's with the tone?" he challenged.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Yang sassed, "It's just that my only sister has freaking cancer, and I'm apparently supposed to be fine with her replacement."

"Hey, I know I'm not going to be anything like Ruby." Daniel snapped, stepping face to face with Yang. "You think I took that offer to try and take over? You think I took it for my own benefit? No!" Daniel was now looming over Yang menacingly as the other three were tugging him backward. Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were finally successful, but Daniel threw them off, eventually calming down. "I'm staying here to make sure my friends don't break apart. I'm here to keep my friends together. If you think," He pushed a finger into Yang's collarbone, glaring at her, "I'm in this just for me, you're dead wrong."

The elevator doors opened with a ding. Daniel stepped out first, stopping when no one else joined him. "I'll see you guys around… sometime," he ended, trying to walk away.

"Like hell you are," Yang growled slightly, pulling him back by the arm, "You're not having another temper tantrum."

The others looked torn on who to support, Ruby especially looking like a lost puppy. "I could do without your stupid, no good attitude," Daniel harshly retaliated, pulling his arm away.

"Guys, cut it out!" Ruby pled, trying to keep them apart while also not letting either of them run off in anger. Blake essentially pulled Yang into a headlock as Weiss helped Ruby, using her glyphs to keep Daniel in place.

"Blake, step back!" Weiss ordered, concentrating on her glyphs. With a nod, Blake quickly let go of her partner as Weiss formed another glyph under Yang, effectively trapping the pair of them.

"Now," Blake started, "Can we start behaving like Huntresses and Huntsmen instead of kids?"

Yang and Daniel remained silent out of sheer stubbornness, trying to break free from their bonds. "Better make a decision." Blake advised, "Weiss looks like she's about to pop a vein."

Daniel was the first to relent. "Alright," he agreed, crossing his arms while glaring at Yang.

The others pointedly stared at Yang. "Fine," she huffed, flipping her hair back.

"Alright," Blake said finally. Weiss let go of her concentration on her glyphs, staggering before Ruby steadied her by the shoulders. "First things first, Yang, what's your problem with Daniel?"

Yang stayed silent for a good few heartbeats. "That's the thing," Yang eventually admitted, "there isn't, really. I want to hate him. I want to find a reason why he isn't as good as Ruby. He will never be like Ruby, but he's still a good person, which is what I hate."

"So, you don't like Daniel… because there's nothing to hate about him?" Ruby clarified with a frown.

Yang sighed as she leaned against a wall. "It's stupid, I know." she acknowledged, "Daniel basically hasn't done anything wrong, and that's what ticks me off."

Daniel nodded in understanding. "It's like how I'm apparently supposed to fill Ruby's shoes while you don't want anyone to fill them in the first place," he observed.

"Exactly!" Yang confirmed. She let out a deep sigh. "Sorry it sounded like I didn't want you as our leader." Yang apologized.

Daniel walked up and pulled Yang into a small and quick hug. "Completely understandable," he reassured, "I hate doing this too, 'ya know?"

"Why would you hate it?" Yang looked up in slight surprise as Daniel pulled away, "You have another team. You're team leader without a second thought."

"And there," Daniel pointed out, "is our problem. I never wanted to be thrown onto another team without warning. Hell, putting me as team leader was really pushing it for Ozpin. But, I guess this was probably the best team to put me on."

The three girls not a part of this exchange sighed in relief. "Crisis averted," Ruby said with a smile, wiping a nonexistent drop of sweat off her forehead.

Daniel smiled softly as he pulled his girlfriend into a hug. Looking up, Daniel locked eyes with Weiss. "Thanks for keeping me under control," he spoke. Then, turning to Blake, he thanked her again. "Thanks for giving both of us a chance."

The two girls nodded in appreciation. Without warning, Yang tackled both of them in a bear hug, one girl under each arm. "Group hug!" Yang beamed.

"Knock it off, Yang," Blake said with a smile as she tried to pull away, eventually giving into the embrace.

"Get off, you oaf!" Weiss chided, pulling at Yang's vice-like grip to no avail.

Ruby and Daniel smirked at their interaction. "Should we join your team?" Daniel asked Ruby.

Ruby gave Daniel a small peck on the cheek. "It's your team now, too." Ruby reminded as she joined in the hug, leaping onto the backs of Yang and Weiss.

Daniel laughed as he walked over to separate the now irritated Weiss from Yang and Ruby's hold. " _What have I gotten myself into_?" he asked himself with a smile.

 **AN: And that's a wrap. Hey guys, Fireflame here. And there's the next installment of Wilting Rose. Hope you enjoyed it! I'll try and make the next one a lot more cheerful, don't worry. This chapter was supposed to make it a lot further through my story- all the way to the Vytal Ball-, but if I did that, it would be at least 15k words long, and I'm not letting you guys sit through that or for me to make a chapter that long.**

 **Alright, I'm really hyped up about next chapter. October 26. Special date for this story. It's** _ **Wilting Rose**_ **'s 6-month anniversary.**

 **Ok, I'm going to have to answer a ton of reviews. Apolios, glad to have you back, friend! Sorry about your injury, but at least you're better. Also, if you're reading this, I'm sorry about the last chapter. I'm not doing the kick-ass Ruby as you want for obvious reasons now. If you want a Badass Ruby story, go check out The Red Queen by Draven LeCrux. Sorry if it sounded like I was chastising you about Chapter 3. I meant, "Was Chapter 3 really happy for you, or something else?"**

 **Hey, Apolios, you have some competition with Jake Hallows in terms of your guys' amount of reviews. Speaking of Jake, thanks for that OC idea, but I'm not really taking those anymore- I've already got enough on my hands. If I do make a sequel to this or even another story, can I take it off your hands? Also, happy birthday to your brother, man. But jokes aside, thank you so much for being an unofficial beta for me. Mr. Nobody or YARN's and my schedule have been iffy at best and straight up horrible at the worst, so I'm sorta going at this solo at the moment.**

 **Raxhaf, I'll try and update asap, but there's a great big thing that's blocking my way, and its name is "life".**

 **Dan Song. Same goes for you. And I'm not really trying to escalate things. It's more like flip-flopping between fun and horrifying chapters. I'll do that later in the story.**

 **G3r1k. First off, weird but cool name. Second, that's… oddly descriptive of what it feels like I did to you. Actually, my friend Kaylee isn't "dead" gone, more like "I haven't seen her in 3 years since she moved" gone. Thanks for the support! I'll see you at the end of this story.**

 **Trninjakiller. I'm sorry this story didn't work out for you. I knew I was going to get some people to hate me for what I did, it was something I predicted before I started writing. Thanks for calling my story "the only good RubyxOC out there", though. Adios, amigo. I'll hope you'll give my story a second chance, but it's too late to back down from the path I've gone, now. This story's going on until the end if I can.**

 **KINGTIGERGRACE. Sorry if this story hits a bit close to home. I'm just trying to write a story with emotions. Oh! Speaking of emotions, I won one of my bets. Yep, my friend has finally cried. REJOICE, WORDS DO HURT.**

 **Drake187. That was the plan! Last chapter, I tried to get in a mix of anguish and thrill. Apparently, from your feedback, I did my job well. Yeah, sorry not sorry about giving Ruby the crap end of the stick.**

 **Well, that's all I have for this chapter. I'll see you all in a little more than 3 weeks. Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	16. Chapter 15: A Ball of a Time

**Happy 6-month Anniversary, folks! Welcome to the half-year special of Wilting Rose! Holy cow, does time fly. I mean, in the first month or so of this story, I barely made it to 1000 views, getting 200 views max a day. Now, we've quadrupled that number and basically tripled the max views.**

 **Apparently, we're celebrating a BUNCH of milestones: 60 favorites, 16,000 views, 11k+ words in one chapter, 80 followers, and 6 months of continued updates. HAPPY 6-MONTH ANNIVERSARY! (*Confetti everywhere*).**

 **What I'm trying to say is, thank you guys so much for your support! Thank you, anyone who's reviewed, viewed, favorited, and/or followed my story. I'm starting to sound cheesy, but it's the happy truth. We also hit 16k views (Wahoo!). We hit 10k views just a month ago, so we basically got another 5000 views in a month. To me, that speaks volumes for how many people actually take the time to want to read my story. Once again, thank you for the support.**

 **Enough beating around the bush, amazing readers. Let's get right to it. But first…**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any share of it. That right goes to the great producers, writers, actors, and everyone behind the animations. The only thing I can claim is my characters.**

Chapter 15: A Vytal Ball

Team DWBY and Ruby walked into the cafeteria in high spirits. Actually, Team DWBY walked in with Ruby hitching a ride on Daniel's shoulders. "Is this really necessary?" Daniel asked, a small smile donning his face.

"Nope!" Ruby answered, popping the 'p', "Now onwards, steed!" She pointed to the slowly shrinking line.

Daniel huffed as he rolled his eyes, still smiling at his girlfriend's antics. "You're carrying your own tray, though," he proclaimed.

"Fine," Ruby groaned, jumping off her ride.

"Please tell me this isn't going to be a thing you two will be continuing while Daniel's team leader," Weiss sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, what did you expect?" Yang asked, smirking at her teammate.

"I was _hoping_ for a mature, level-headed leader, but I still expected a leader that wouldn't go 'lovey-dovey' on us."

"Hey, you don't argue with the girlfriend," Daniel advised over his shoulder, "There're a few things I've learned from Finnick."

"Wise words," Yang praised, walking behind the couple, "Now, you're going to have to use those wise words to tell Team JNPR how not to freak out and tell everyone about Ruby's thing."

Daniel and Ruby whipped their heads around, scanning the cafeteria for the team. Sure enough, the members of the aforementioned team were sitting around a table in the back, their heads hung a little lower than usual. "I'll think of something," Daniel claimed, gulping.

They finally arrived at Team JNPR's table, staring at their hunched over figures. Daniel was the first to sit down. Surprise, surprise: he didn't have a plan on how to break the news or calm them down. "How's your morning?" he asked the team.

Yang raised an eyebrow towards Daniel. "Really, _that's_ your opening?" she chortled.

"How are you, Ruby?" Jaune asked with pitiful eyes.

Ruby rolled her eyes at Jaune. "Fine besides the whole 'sick person' deal." she declared.

Jaune winced at her answer, drawing a small glare from Daniel's direction. "Guys, it's not like she's a dead man walking," he chastised, "She's still here with us."

Jaune shot a now uncomfortable Ruby an apologetic look. "Sorry, it's just really big news we haven't had the time to absorb yet."

Ruby's shoulders released their tension as she shot back a smile. "It's fine. It just gets old really quickly."

"Well, look on the bright side!" Nora piped up. The others stared at her in confusion. "You can shorten your bucket list with the time you have open!"

Ruby gave Nora a grateful smile. "I can finally read that book series Blake gave me," she agreed.

Daniel gave her a quick kiss on the temple. "Don't forget about our date next Friday." he reminded.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at Daniel's statement. "You do realize that that's the day of the ball, don't you?" she questioned.

Daniel groaned as he slapped his forehead. "Shoot, it is," he remembered, "Well, that gives me a bit more time."

"You also said you'd go with Ruby to the dance," Ren joined in, taking another bite out of his breakfast, "Or is that also off?"

Daniel groaned again, covering his face with both of his hands. "That means I have to dance," he complained.

Ruby gave him a comforting hug, silently laughing along with the rest of the table. "Don't worry," she encouraged, "It could be worse; you could have a worse partner."

"True," Daniel agreed, finally looking up from his palms. "I could be partnered with Weiss."

Weiss threw up her hands in agitation. "Why is every insult a comparison to me?!" she complained.

The entire table laughed at Weiss's outburst. "Because you're the one who makes the biggest deal about it," explained Yang.

"Back to the dance," Daniel interrupted before Weiss could start up an argument, "Are we all still going?"

Everyone around the table nodded. "If you and Ruby are going, Team RWBY must go as well," Yang vowed.

"Team DWBY," Blake corrected.

"Wait," Jaune interrupted. He looked at the five not a part of his team. "DWBY?"

Yang sighed as she rested her chin in her palm, leaning on the table. "Stupid stipulation for us to be together," she explained, "Either Team RWBY is completely shut down or we let Daniel be our captain until Ruby's better."

"I take it you didn't take it well initially?" Pyrrha assumed.

Weiss harrumphed as she took a swig from her water. "That's an understatement." she put in, "Yang and Daniel were at each other's throats at one point."

Jaune sighed. "I honestly thought it would've been worse," he admitted.

"It could've been," Blake agreed, "But we somehow managed to get them to talk it out."

Jaune laughed at how outlandish the image of seeing Yang and Daniel calmly sitting together, chatting, seemed. "What did you do, restrain them?" he asked sarcastically, taking a sip of water. Daniel and Yang went uncharacteristically quiet as their friends donned small smirks. "Holy cow," he marveled, almost spitting out his drink, "You actually did have to restrain them."

"Is that why Weiss is eating more food than usual?" Nora wondered, unconsciously pointing at Weiss's filled plate.

Blake nodded slightly in affirmation. "Why do you think she looks like she would pass out any second?" she rhetorically asked.

"Remind me again to practice on Semblance endurance," Weiss said drowsily, pushing another square of food in her mouth.

"Right after we remind Daniel and Yang about the concept of teamwork," Blake replied dryly.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I'm feeling the love, guys," he remarked.

This went on for the rest of their breakfast, even the rest of their morning. Before they knew it, it was lunch time, and they still hadn't left the cafeteria. Yet, they still apparently had things to talk about.

"That's it?" Pyrrha asked Ruby, "That's all they can do about your condition?"

Ruby shrugged. "I know, right? I mean, if I'm not allowed to use my Aura, can't I… I don't know, donate it? Like how a blood drive donates blood?"

Daniel silently chuckled a bit at Ruby's comment, drawing a few judgmental looks from his friends. "What's so funny?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

Daniel tried to wave away the misunderstanding. "It's something I read in a book," he explained, "Apparently, in the older days, that would be considered a marriage deal."

Ruby stared at him in disbelief. "What?" she deadpanned.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah," he continued, "Unless you were a skilled doctor, Aura transfer was reserved for two things: family members unlocking their children's own Aura, or for a couple to get married."

Jaune stared at Daniel, unblinking. "Is that so?" he asked in a monotone voice.

"Yep," Daniel claimed, popping the 'P', "It's common knowledge in Mistral. You learn it really quickly."

Jaune's gaze then quickly was directed at Pyrrha. Noticing the implication, Pyrrha blushed as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, not meeting Jaune's eyes. "Don't we have that assignment coming up?" Pyrrha blurted, "We should probably get going." Pyrrha stood up, tugging on Jaune's arm roughly until she was almost dragging him down the hall. ( **AN: Oh, the ship's sailing.** )

Nora and Ren looked at their teammates, unsure of what to do. "I guess this is goodbye?" Ren said, sounding more like a question as the sentence dragged on.

Yang gave them a wave as they stood up from their seats. "See 'ya guys later!" she called out to them. She turned to her teammates and her sister. "Well, I guess we should go… do something as well," she suggested.

Weiss nodded in agreement. "I believe we should inform Daniel about our combat strategy," she put in.

"Sounds like a start to me." Daniel commented, "So, are you guys more of a 'follow the leader' or a 'watch each other's backs' sort of deal?"

As they walked back to the dorm, they quickly realized a very major issue with Daniel as the leader. "How are you supposed to call the shots?" Yang questioned, "You don't know our combos."

Daniel looked at Yang questioningly. "Combos?" he asked.

"Ladybug, Ice Flower, Freezerburn-," Blake listed.

"Who made those names?" Daniel criticized lightly.

"Hey!" Ruby huffed, "I resent that!"

"Anyway, we can't use about three of them since Ruby's not a member of this anymore." Weiss continued, "So now, we essentially have to make a new battle strategy! By the end of this semester!"

"Calm down," Daniel reassured, "We still have time. So, let's see, we have Yang as a brawler that can tank a lot of hits, Weiss, who is more of a support than a head-on fighter, and Blake, a fighter that uses quick blows and evasion to whittle out opponents."

Weiss looked at Daniel, slightly impressed. "That's… actually a pretty accurate description of our styles, yes," she complimented.

Daniel nodded in appreciation. "Now, the problem is trying to fit in my style," he stated.

"What _is_ your style?" Yang wondered.

Daniel shrugged. "To be honest," he admitted, "I don't really have one. I just adapt to the situation and wing it from there."

Weiss groaned. "My least favorite type of person to work with," she complained, "Is there _anything_ you're 100% efficient in that we should know?"

Daniel tilted his head in thought. "I am a more long-ranged helper," he replied, "With the sniper attachment. I also have a longer reach with my sword than you guys, and I have a lot bulkier set to go off of."

Weiss clasped her hands together. "Perfect! We have a starting point!" she exclaimed.

However, the starting point was starting to look more and more like a dead end. After a good hour, Daniel slumped over his chair. "This isn't helping," he proclaimed with a defeated, finality tone.

Weiss rubbed the nose of her bridge as she threw yet another discarded plan into the ever-growing waste basket. "It's just so difficult conjoining your abilities into the pool we already have," Weiss commented.

"I think the problem is," Daniel began, "I was part of a more independent team." The others stared at him in confusion. "Like, you guys are more team oriented, so to speak," he continued, "You guys base around having each other's backs constantly, creating the combos and whatnot. My old team was more individualized- we decided who is best suited for what, where, when, and how, and then we split up and tackle problems separately while also vaguely covering our backs."

Yang nodded in understanding. "I get it," she joined in, "We have more of a set plan with a really tightly knit team. That's why if one member is downed, like Ruby right now, our plans usually fall apart. But, the trick to our type of team is that we cover for each other so well that it's hard to pick us off one by one."

"Exactly!" Daniel complimented, "I could probably take any of you on for a one-on-one and win, but if our teams fought, we would almost certainly lose."

"And there," Weiss finalized, "is our conflict. We somehow have to put a lone wolf into a pack that already had an Alpha."

"Well, it's going to take more than a day," Daniel scoffed, looking at the time. "Maybe we should take a break," he suggested, "I could really do with punching something out of frustration."

"Way ahead of you," Yang agreed, pulling Ember Celica out of their box.

"It would be helpful to see Daniel in combat," Blake added in, "I'll tag along to watch."

"And so will I," Weiss finished, pulling out a small notebook out of what seemed to be thin air.

Daniel rubbed his head sheepishly. "I don't know…" he drawled, "I haven't really tested out my prototype. Or the rounds to go with it."

Weiss stared at Daniel incredulously. "I thought you said that you had a sniper attachment," she stated.

Daniel made a small hissing sound, drawing air in between his teeth. "About that… I have it, I know it works, but I haven't extensively used it."

Weiss just blinked, digesting the information. "You are going to test the weapon whether you want to or not," she demanded.

Daniel paled at Weiss's tone, slowly backing away to the door. "I'll be down in five minutes," he promised, dashing off to his room.

Weiss sat back down, holding her head in her hands. "It's déjà vu all over again," she stated, "This is literally like trying to get Ruby to cooperate in a team."

"Hey!" Ruby whined, "So I wanted to be a loner in Signal. I still got to be the leader, and I think I did quite well!"

Weiss decided to ignore the comment before walking out, ready to watch and observe her newest teammate's style.

 **-xX-Line Break-Xx-**

From that Saturday, Weiss and the rest of her team studied and tried to incorporate Daniel's style into their own. It was already Wednesday, and they had made little to no process. "This is so infuriating!" Weiss raged in their room, looking like she was on the verge of a meltdown, "Five days of _nothing_!"

"Daniel's methods he used with his team were very different," Blake reasoned, "Maybe we're looking at it wrong. Instead of making him go with our style, we could… meet in the middle, somehow."

Weiss took a few deep breaths and pondered the idea. "Maybe," she said, calming down, "Speaking of, where is he? He should've been here by now."

Yang sat on her bed nonchalantly, spinning a pencil between her fingers unconsciously. "Maybe he had something else to do," Yang suggested, "Like, _sleeping_ ," She ended with a yawn.

"But, it's only seven," Weiss argued.

" _In the morning!_ " Yang shot back. She then had a sudden realization and looked around the room. "Where's Ruby?"

"She went out," replied Blake, "Ruby told me that she wanted to practice something."

"Without her cape?" Yang questioned, nodding toward the fabric hanging from the side of Ruby's bed.

Blake shrugged. "No idea," she admitted.

Yang nodded in appreciation. Another half-hour passed with Weiss getting more and more impatient. "That's it!" Weiss popped, storming out the room and to Daniel's.

Yang turned to Blake and asked, "Should we try and help her?"

Blake shrugged while leaving her seat. "Might as well," she suggested.

Joining up with Weiss, the three of them walked around Beacon, trying to find Daniel. The library, training room, arena, and his room yielded no results. "I give up," Weiss conceded, throwing her hands up in exasperation, "He's gone."

Yang's hand shot out in front of Weiss, making her stop. Weiss, in return, shot her a dirty look. "What?" she snapped.

"Shh," Yang quietly shushed, "Do you hear that?"

Weiss tilted her head to listen. "Classical music. Waltz in… A-flat Minor? Yeah, so?" she implored.

Yang exchanged a look with Blake. "You don't think…"

Without an answer, Blake set out to find the source of the noise, followed closely by the other two girls. Eventually, they stumbled upon an abandoned classroom that seemed to be out of commission for quite a while. Cobwebs were hanging from the frame, recently broken from the door swinging open. The three opened the door slowly, without even the slightest creak, and were greeted with a sight that brought a smile on all their faces.

The desks were pushed back towards the far walls of the room, leaving plenty of space open in the center. A small speaker, hooked up to a Scroll, was blasting the music from the back of the room, resting on one of the desks. The middle of the room was the main event, however. A small, dark-brown haired girl, dressed in a red shirt and black pants was slowly dancing with a black-haired man in his school uniform. These individuals, (you guessed it), were Ruby and Daniel. Daniel's hand was clasped on Ruby's waist with the other holding her hand. Just so they wouldn't interfere, Daniel folded his wings close to his back, shortening them whilst adding another few inches to the height difference. Ruby's remaining arm wrapped around his neck as she awkwardly followed along with Daniel leading the pair. The three girls spying on them grinned brightly, hiding behind the door while muffling their giggles.

Daniel silently chuckled as Ruby stumbled once again, trying to keep up with the beat. "You're not really good at this, are you?" Daniel teased.

"I planned to be a Huntress, not a dancer," Ruby defended herself.

Daniel smiled at Ruby's annoyed expression while continuing to guide her through the steps. "It's okay if you're a little clumsy- no one would care," he half reassured, half-joked.

Ruby pouted angrily, scrunching her eyebrows together. "I am _not_ clumsy!" she protested.

Focusing more on the conversation, Ruby lost her footing. She stumbled and fell, bringing Daniel down with her. Ruby landed on her back with Daniel hovering over her, propped up by his hands extending on either side to break his fall. Ruby stared into Daniel's eyes as he did the same, making it more intimate than necessary. Her face heated up in the position they were in, and it continued to heat up as Daniel leaned in closer to her. " _Oh no, oh no, oh no!_ " Ruby thought, panicking, freaking out, and doing any of the other synonyms for 'losing her mind'.

Eventually, Daniel was only about a hair-width away from Ruby's face, his breath tickling her cheek, making her shudder involuntarily. He leaned in, brushing cheeks, and smugly whispered, "Clumsy."

It took a second for Ruby to process what she just heard, and when she did, it wasn't pretty. She pushed him off herself just enough to give him a good and strong slap, sending Daniel onto his back. Daniel completely lost it, cracking up and rolling on the floor while ignoring the throbbing pain in his cheek. "Jerk," Ruby muttered agitatedly, massaging her hand.

Daniel continued to laugh as he tried to comfort his dance partner with a hug, only for Ruby to pull away immediately out of stubbornness and childish anger. "You know you love me for it," Daniel said with a laugh.

"More like tolerate," Ruby jokingly teased.

Daniel recoiled back dramatically, placing a hand on his heart. "You wound me, my dear!" he insisted in an aristocratic accent.

Ruby tried to contain herself and keep her anger, but it was impossible. She had to laugh at Daniel's mock-seriousness. "You, doofus," she giggled, trying to muffle herself with a hand.

Daniel crawled over and wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "Well, you're stuck with a doofus like me," he jokingly commented.

"Well, I guess we now know what you wanted to practice, sis'!" Yang interrupted, smugly coming into view. Taking their cue, Blake and Weiss entered, wide smirks donning their faces.

Ruby and Daniel blushed in embarrassment. "Shoot," Daniel lightly cursed, "I was hoping they would forget about it."

"Deciding to move onto my sister, are we, Daniel?" Yang asked jokingly, but a dangerous tone underlined her light mood.

Daniel sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, today's one of the only days Ruby and I have some time open together," he explained, "with catching up with the team and whatnot. So, I thought it would be a good time to teach this clumsy person how to dance."

Ruby slapped Daniel lightly on the arm. "Hey, these feet were made for fighting, not dancing," Ruby said defensively.

"Speaking of dancing, how _do_ you know how to dance, Daniel?" Yang inquired.

Daniel's blush deepened as he nervously chuckled. "My mom may have…" he tapered off, mumbling the end.

Weiss leaned in, cupping a hand over her ear mockingly. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Weiss asked.

"I… may or may not have… taken…" Daniel drawled.

Ruby giggled as she finally had a chance to poke fun back at Daniel. "Go on," she teased, poking the side of his stomach, "tell them!"

Eventually, he sighed and said in a low voice, "I took dance lessons when I was younger."

Ruby laughed at the statement and the flabbergasted expressions on her friends' faces. Soon, the other three girls joined in and cracked up laughing. "Even," Weiss gasped out, "even _I_ didn't take dance lessons!"

Daniel's face seemingly outshone the sun, but he still rolled his eyes. "Not my proudest years," he admitted. Ruby playfully bumped him with her shoulder, eyes full of mirth, making Daniel glare slightly at her. Ruby, in response, stuck her tongue out at Daniel, truly showing her maturity.

"I assume this is why you decided to skip on our training session?" Weiss got back on track, her tone getting a little bit more serious.

Daniel shrugged. "I'm not gonna show up to have my partner outshone by her friends, thank you very much," he said.

Weiss sighed. "I'll let you off the hook this time," she relented, "But, try and make sure you aren't late frequently like _someone_ we know." She ended her statement with a pointed stare at the girl in Daniel's arms.

Ruby grumbled, "Beacon's a big place," while trying to make herself scarce in Daniel's side.

Yang walked over to drag her sister away from Daniel's side. "Well, you can dance with your boyfriend later. Right now, we have class." With a little bit of effort, Ruby was seen being dragged away with a small smile as she waved goodbye to Daniel.

"See 'ya later, Rubes!" Daniel said, waving back. "Well," he said to himself once the girls were gone, "I'm set for the dance. Got my suit, I can still dance, and I have a date. Nothing to worry about!"

 **-xX-Line Break-Xx-**

"I take that back," mumbled Daniel who was pacing back and forth, "There's everything to worry about."

It was the Friday of the same week. The day of the Vytal Ball. At the moment, it was just a few minutes until the five teens had to leave- 6:30 PM, to be exact-, and Daniel was currently freaking out. He was treading a small indention in the floor outside of Team RWBY's room ( **AN: It's still Team RWBY's room. I'm not going to make it weird and put Daniel in a room with 3, no,** _ **4**_ **, other girls** ), wringing his hands in anxiety. "Just chill out," Yang chided, rolling her eyes as she inspected her nails for any imperfections, leaning against the wall, "Ruby's just got a new dress, and she's freaking out over it like the kid she is. Well, Weiss is." Yang had on the same white dress she wore during the school dance, this time with an added yellow sash wrapping around her waist, with her black flats.

"Easy for you to say," Daniel shot back, tugging at the collar of his shirt, "You're taking Blake to the party. Your partner and you already know what the two of you are wearing. I'm taking a girlfriend I've had for a month to one of the biggest dances, maybe _the_ biggest dances for a date."

Yang winced slightly at the mental image Daniel was painting. "When you put it that way…" Yang drawled, "You still shouldn't be worrying this much- you look fine, Danny Boy!"

Daniel took a glance down at what he wore. On him was a nice 3-piece suit: a black vest, midnight-black jacket, and a crimson-red suit, complete with a navy-blue tie, nice black dress shoes, and a pair of black dress pants. Everything on his upper body had slits in the back big enough for Daniel to fit his wings through. Daniel sighed. "I'm just worried about fumbling everything," he admitted.

Yang rolled her eyes, smiling at Daniel's nature. "If anything, Ruby would probably blunder the night. According to her, you're a natural dancer; you should be fine!" she reassured.

Daniel slumped against the wall. "Still-."

He was interrupted by Team RWBY's door opening up, showing Ruby in all her glory. "I still don't know what the fuss is about," Ruby whined towards Weiss, folding her arms across her chest, "It's just a dress!"

"Just a dress?" Weiss said in disbelief, "I didn't know you considered something that fitted you perfectly, physically and characteristically, ' _just a dress_ '!"

"I told you! I-." Ruby stopped suddenly, finally noticing Daniel's presence. Blood quickly rushed to her face as she coyly looked down, fanning out the hem of her dress unconsciously. "What do you think?" she asked hesitantly, twirling around. This made Weiss snicker at Ruby's sudden change of heart for the care of fashion.

Daniel stared at Ruby, star-struck. She ditched her slightly plain-looking grey and red dress with black straps for something more… glamorous. Ruby wore a sleeveless, candy-red dress that loosely hugged her sides, eventually fanning out to her mid-calf. It was patterned with alternating silver and black outlines that formed floral shapes. On either side were small slits that went up to her the very lower portion of her thigh, and the bottom edgings were outlined by a white and red floral pattern. For her accessories, Ruby wore Daniel's red-diamond necklace gift for her birthday along with Pyrrha's gift of earrings. In her hands was a small silver handbag that matched her eyes, barely any bigger than an envelope. Her face was void of makeup besides a hint of lipstick and eyeliner, and, somehow, she managed to wrestle down her unruly hair and brushed the strands that usually fell in front of her face to the left.

"You-you look…" Daniel stuttered, "Just, _wow_." Yang nodded in agreement, honestly impressed at how beautiful her little sister had become.

Ruby blushed. "Really?" she squeaked.

Daniel walked over, a flabbergasted expression on his face while shaking his head in disbelief. "You never cease to amaze me, Miss Rose," he announced in a semi-defeated tone.

Ruby's eyes narrowed in confusion. "And why's that?" she asked.

Daniel smiled cockily while wrapping an arm around Ruby's waist. "Every time I believe you can't get any more beautiful, you pull stunts like this."

Ruby's face slowly went from a light pink to a crimson-red. "Y-you look nice, too," she stuttered.

Daniel smiled at Ruby's attempt. "Probably nothing compared to you," he claimed.

This made Ruby blush deepen to the point of lighting up the room, giggling in embarrassment. Yang smirked at her sister's expression. "You really know how to make a girl blush, Lady Killer," Yang joked.

Daniel beamed at Yang while tightening his hold on his dance partner. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he denied, "I am just stating the obvious." This made Ruby bury her face into Daniel's side out of embarrassment, eventually mumbling something inaudible. "I'm sorry, what was that, Rubes?" Daniel asked with a soft but teasing smile.

"You smell like peaches," Ruby managed out.

Daniel let out a hearty laugh. "Of all the compliments you could've tried for," he commented, shaking his head while the smile still hung on his face, "you had to go with, 'You smell like peaches'."

Ruby pulled away with a slightly annoyed expression plastered on her face. "What else am I supposed to say?" she argued playfully, "I'm not going full fairy tale and saying, 'You look like an angel that just fell from heaven'." She said the last part in a very squeaky, child-like tone while clasping her hands together in front of her.

Daniel shook his head while pulling Ruby into another hug. "Maybe you should stick with the peaches," he commented, making Ruby giggle into his stomach. Daniel, with a giant grin, leaned down next to her ear and whispered, "You smell like strawberries."

Ruby's face flustered as she playfully smacked his arm. "You also know just how to ruin a perfectly good moment," she chided.

Daniel beamed. "It's part of the charm!"

"If you two don't mind," Blake said with a small cough, tightening her bow slightly, "we should be on our way."

Daniel and Ruby pulled away, flustered, as the other three girls snickered. "Where's your date, Weiss?" Daniel asked politely.

"Already at the ball," Weiss responded, "Which is why I prefer we go there. As in, now?" her tone became more snobbish by the end.

Daniel rolled his eyes turning away to walk down the hall, Ruby still being taken along under Daniel's wing ( **AN: Hehe, pun intended…** ). "You really are right," he whispered to Ruby, "Weiss really is the Ice Queen."

"I heard that!" Weiss snapped, drawing a snort and laugh from Daniel and Ruby respectively. She huffed, "Mental ages of eight-year-olds, I tell you."

"And you have the temperament of an eighty-year-old," Blake sassed, a smirk forming on her face.

Weiss glared at Blake as Yang let out a bark-laugh, staring at her partner in surprise. Without warning, she threw an arm over Blake's shoulders, herding her along. "I knew there was a reason why we were partners!" she half praised, half-joked.

Blake grinned at Yang's playful nature despite rolling her eyes. Weiss, on the other hand, didn't think it was quite as funny as they did. "How did I get stuck with these people?" she asked herself, trudging along to catch up with her team.

 **-xX-Line Break because I'm lazy and can't think of filler ideas-Xx-**

"Wow…" Ruby breathed, staring at the place where the dance was being held, "It's so cool!"

Team DWBY and Ruby stood in front of the most breathtaking sight they'd ever seen. They were on the outskirts of Vale, standing at the edge of what appeared to be a palace fit for a king. The courtyard itself could fit most of Signal inside its boundaries, with a water fountain in the center that felt more like a pool than a normal fountain, making grand arches around a small spring in the center. Luscious green bushes and young trees, decorated with bright lights curved along the paths and plots of land designed for planting. The paths themselves were filled with all assortments of colors with the dresses and suits of many couples as they walked along, marveling at the scene they were in.

The palace itself was a wonder itself. The building was three levels high, and each level looked as if it could fit two stories of space inside itself. A set of marble stairs led to the main entrance, flanked by rows of marble columns. Around the entire foundation, vines grew just out of arms reach, adding another bit of perfection to the scene, like the place had been untouched for decades and was just now being used. Windows decorated the second level while arches in the first level's exterior walls gave it a more interesting design. Not even the dozens upon dozens of Atlas guards, stationed at every few meters, could make it any less magnificent. If anything, it made it feel more relaxed since they could rely on their protection if worse comes to worst. ( **AN: I tried to imagine a combination of the Palace of Versailles and Somerset House. Sue me, I'm a minor history nerd.** )

"It's like something out of a fairy tale!" Ruby gawked, trying to drink in all the sights and sounds all at once.

"It is mightily impressive," Weiss agreed, and she had been to her fair share of prestigious events.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Yang inquired, pulling her date along, "Come on, I want to see the inside!" Blake waved back at them as Yang kept her grip on her arm, smiling despite stumbling to keep up with her partner.

"If the inside's as great as out here," Daniel agreed, "I don't see how we could pass up the chance."

Weiss nodded, then a smile danced on her lips as she saw a familiar blue-haired man waving at her. "I'll catch up," she said, "I have someone to meet right now."

Daniel smirked as Ruby pulled on his arm enthusiastically. "I didn't know Weiss had a boyfriend," Daniel said to Ruby once they were out of earshot.

"She doesn't," Ruby told him, "Not officially anyway." Ruby rolled her eyes. "I don't know why she won't admit she likes him, though," she commented.

As they started up the steps to the grand entrance, a guard stopped the pair. "Stop. Identifications, please," he demanded.

Daniel pulled his scroll out of his pocket as Ruby pulled hers out of her small purse. A few presses of the screens later, and photo IDs popped up on both screens. The guard took a glance at their devices before nodding. "Ok, you're all set. Have a nice evening." He gestured towards the building, earning him a nod of appreciation from Daniel and a smile from Ruby as they walked into the grand building.

While the outside was breathtaking in its own way, the inside of the building was nothing less than the definition of luxury and picture-perfect. The high, vaulted ceilings made sure voices could bounce around, filling the air with excited and pleasant chatter. Lavish furniture was placed at specific intervals between windows that stretched almost all the way to the top of the walls, all of which were seen throughout the halls. The walls were painted beautiful shades of white, brown, and silver, giving it the royal look it deserved while borders painted gold gave an emphasis on its contrasting beauty. When they entered the ballroom, you could almost see Daniel and Ruby's minds implode at the regal feeling it imposed. The same color scheme from the halls was present in the ballroom. The ceiling was decorated with a masterful mosaic spanning from wall to wall. Chandeliers made of crystal hung from the ceiling at regular intervals, illuminating the room while also adding another layer of an indescribable beauty. Tables with white tablecloths and candles were laid out in the front and sides of the room with a clear space for even hundreds of people to dance in. In the back was a small stage with an entire orchestra playing soft music, still able to be heard clearly over the sounds of thousands of people speaking at once.

Ruby spun 'round and 'round a few times, mouth forming a perfect ' _O_ '. "It… it feels so…"

Daniel nodded, eyes glazing over while taking on a childish excitement. "I know," he agreed, "It's like something straight out of a book."

"I was going to say play, but fairy tales are better."

Daniel smirked slightly. "If it's a play you wanted, then it's a play you'll get." Facing Ruby, he got down on a knee, dramatically raising his hands above his head and recited, "Ruby-O, oh, Ruby-O. Wherefore art thou Ruby-O?" ( **AN: I'm sorry, it was too good of an opportunity to throw in some Romeo and Juliet** ).

Ruby couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles. Those giggles turned into flat out laughter as she hunched over, hugging her sides as tears threatened to fall. Daniel got up, now with a smile filled with mirth. "Come on," he chided lightly as he guided Ruby to a place to sit down, "It wasn't that funny."

"It absolutely was," Ruby argued, wiping away a few tears from laughing too hard. When she looked back at Daniel, she couldn't help but start up her laughter again, drawing a halfhearted glare from Daniel.

Eventually, Ruby was able to calm down enough to be able to enjoy the moment again. Daniel helped her out of her seat as the set out to try and find Blake and Yang. They were only able to spot them in the large crowd when Yang stood at one of the tables, waving her hand high above her head towards them.

"Where's Weiss?" Yang asked when the two finally sat down next to them.

"She went along with Neptune," Ruby answered.

( **AN: At this point, I have no idea how a ball is supposed to act like, so I'm winging it for a while.** ) Yang nodded in understanding just before a loud tapping noise was heard. Looking up, the four of them stared at the man onstage with the orchestra. With his imposing and stocky figure, gray hair, elegant suit, and the unmistakable beard, they could only conclude that this was Vale's most prominent leader (King? President? Mayor? Governor?) that was drawing everyone's attention. "Good evening, citizens and foreigners alike," he greeted with the mic, "Welcome to the first Vytal Ball." This earned him a small round of applause from the crowd.

The man cleared his throat. "As one of the leaders of this great kingdom, I am proud to say that Vale is proud to host the very first of its kind, and we hope this tradition will continue for as long as the festival itself will continue. While I could drone on for hours on how honored we feel about hosting this event, I would like for the leaders of the other kingdoms to say a few words before we begin this event."

As he stepped down, a woman replaced his spot. With her long, flowing auburn hair, blue dress that was definitely a trending fashion statement, and alert hazel eyes, this was evidently one of Mistral's highest ranking governors. "Mistral will absolutely continue this event," she claimed with a bright smile, "Just the sheer joy that has already been seen is enough to make sure we will be delighted to host this when our turn comes."

A man with elegant looking green robes and gray wolf ears poking from a mat of dark hair stood up as Mistral's governor stepped down. "Vacuo will be honored for this to take place at its next Vytal Festival."

General Ironwood took his place, his white suit and tie standing out from the four prominent figures of each kingdom. "Atlas cannot and will not overlook this prestigious event. We already have plans set in motion for an event similar to this to be held at one of our best ballrooms." Seeing as how the four kingdoms were able to agree wholeheartedly on an idea, the ballroom stood up and drowned the room in thunderous applause.

Vale's governor stood up yet again. "Now that we have the formalities out of the way, I only have two words," he said, gesturing to the crowd, "Tuck in."

With that, many waiters in their black and white uniforms flooded the room, elegantly navigating their way around the hundreds of seats with ease. Above each waiter and waitress's head was a meal for an individual. When they came to Ruby's table, a dish was set in front of each person. A cod with various vegetables dotting the plate was placed in front of Blake, making her mouth water just by looking at it. Yang and Ruby both received a rather large helping of noodles while Daniel followed Blake's lead and got a fish for himself.

"That. Was. Amazing," Yang stated, sighing in content as she finished her last bite.

"I concur," Blake agreed, licking her lips.

The governor of Vale stood at the stage yet again, tapping on the mic. "Now that we're mainly done with dinner, I suppose we should get on with the main event, shall we?" This was met with nods of agreement and small talks of "Here, here!" Stepping down from his place, the governor took his wife by the arm and stepped foot onto the dancefloor, nodding to the musicians to start up a slow waltz. The leaders of the other kingdoms also took their partners and set off in a slow dance as the musicians started their piece.

"Ugh," Daniel scoffed lightly, looking as if he had just eaten something sour, "Waltz in A-flat Major- so overdone." Ruby stared at her date with a funny expression. "What?" he quickly defended himself, "So I'm a music buff, sue me!"

Ruby giggled as she noticed more and more people started taking to the floor. "Come on!" she called out, tugging Daniel out of his seat.

Daniel sent a look to Yang that clearly said, " _Help me_ ". Yang just laughed and gave him a thumbs-up, making Daniel send her a small glare as Ruby pulled him away. "You really do take enjoyment out of watching Daniel and Ruby fool around, don't you?" Blake pointed out with a small smile.

Yang stared at the dancing couple with a soft smile. "More like I'm comforted by the fact that Daniel's the one paired up with Ruby," she corrected. With a small shake of her head, her smile became more playful and mischievous. "Let's go, Kit-cat," she coaxed Blake, dragging her by her hand. Blake just rolled her eyes but allowed herself to be guided onto the dancefloor.

Meanwhile, Daniel was awkwardly dancing alongside Ruby. "What's wrong?" Ruby asked when Daniel stumbled for the third time.

Daniel shot Ruby an apologetic look. "I'm sorta nervous," he admitted, "Haven't danced in front of this many people since… well, ever."

Ruby giggled as she laid her head against Daniel's chest, making them both blush. "You're not the one allowed to be embarrassed," Ruby joked, drawing a small laugh from Daniel.

"Based on who looks better, I think I am allowed," Daniel leaned down to whisper in Ruby's ear. Ruby's flushed face turned a darker red as she buried her face into Daniel's vest.

"Wait, step back," Daniel instructed Ruby. Ruby, still confused, obliged as Daniel raised her hand above her head, twirling her around. "And now you're good," Daniel stated with a smug smile.

Ruby laughed at Daniel sporadic nature while continuing to dance with him. Eventually, the song ended with Daniel stepping back in a bow and Ruby dipping down in a curtsey. They laughed as they went back to their seat, ready to have a little bit of rest. However, their hopes were dashed when a pretty girl about Daniel's age in a deep red dress and white gloves stepped in their way. Her long auburn hair and striking hazel eyes struck Daniel as familiar, but he didn't know where from.

"Hello!" the girl greeted in a squeaky voice, staring at the pair with dark brown eyes.

"Hello," Daniel replied with a wave, unconsciously drawing Ruby closer to his body, "What can I do for you?"

The girl shyly swayed, a small blush forming. "Would you like to dance with me?" she asked.

Daniel sucked in air between her teeth, looking back at Ruby with an apprehensive look. After a little bit, he turned back. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "I was only planning on dancing with-."

"Oh, why not?" Ruby exclaimed, bumping her shoulder into Daniel, "Let the girl have a dance."

Daniel looked back at his date in surprise. "You sure? I don't really want you to be that lonely."

Overhearing their conversation, Jaune came virtually out of nowhere, accompanied by Pyrrha in her red dress. "Don't worry Daniel," Jaune started, putting an arm around Daniel's shoulders, "Pyrrha here was just going to sit out for a little. Why don't I take Ruby for a little while?"

Daniel looked at Ruby with concern. "You okay with that?" he asked.

Ruby slapped his arm playfully. "Of course," she answered, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Jaune chuckled as Ruby wriggled out of Daniel's grasp and held his hand. "Don't worry, I'm not going to steal your girl, Daniel," Jaune promised.

Daniel nodded before turning to the now beaming girl. "Well, I guess I'm free for a little," he commented.

The girl in the red dress latched onto his arm. "Come on!" she giggled, dragging a semi-reluctant Daniel back to the dancefloor as the next song was still in progress.

As he left, Daniel looked back to see Ruby grinning cockily and commenting, "You look better without the dress, Jaune."

Daniel laughed before a throat was cleared, making him return his attention to the girl at hand. Daniel hesitantly started dancing with the girl, his hands barely brushing against her waist.

"So," the auburn started up, "who was the girl you were dancing with?"

"My girlfriend," Daniel quickly answered, his eyes darting around to try and find Ruby.

The girl Daniel was dancing with shot him a small apologetic look. "Sorry about that," she said, "It's just really hard to find someone that would dance with me instead of the 'me' they think they know."

Daniel looked at the girl with furrowed eyebrows. "And why's that?" he inquired.

It was the girl's turn to look confused. "Wait," she said, standing still and making Daniel fumble before crashing into the girl. "You don't know who I am?"

Daniel scoffed lightly and gave a shrug. "Not a clue," he admitted, "Should I know you from somewhere?"

The girl laughed in surprise. "Oh, that's so rich!" she exclaimed, "This is so much more different than I imagined!"

Daniel stopped for a moment, slightly offended. "Okay, an answer would be great," he insisted.

The girl raised a gloved hand to her mouth to try and hide her giggles. "I'm sorry, but it's nice that someone doesn't marvel at me for a change."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at her, not impressed by her answer. The girl sighed and took Daniel by the hand, trying to pull him away. "Where are you going to take me?" he asked, his tone steeling little by little.

The girl rolled her eyes and continued to try and pull Daniel by the arm. "You wanted answers, right? Well, you'll see once you know who I'm related to."

Daniel weighed the options he had, eventually letting up and allowed himself to be navigated through the mess of bodies. Finally, after they were nearing the tables along the back of the ballroom, the girl stopped at a table. "Mother," she interrupted a conversation while pulling Daniel into the spotlight. "I found someone!"

The woman looked up from the person she was talking to, sending a small look of exasperation to the girl. "Scarlet, what did I say about interrupting others? Especially when I'm trying to talk with your father?"

The girl blushed, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Sorry," she apologized.

Meanwhile, Daniel continued to stare at the woman sitting at the table. He spread out his hands in a " _Really?_ " gesture. " _That's_ your mom?" he asked the girl, an octave higher than his usual voice.

The girl smiled and nodded vigorously. "Yep!" she confirmed.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "That explains why people would recognize you," he commented. He let go of his nose bowed for the lady, a polite smile present on his face. "Nice to meet you, Governor Hitomi," he greeted.

The governor of Mistral smiled at the chivalry of the teen. "Please, no need for the formalities. Call me Azura. Flows off the tongue easier, no?"

Daniel shrugged as he stood back up. "If you insist." He turned to Azura's daughter. "So, you're Scarlet Hitomi?" he clarified.

Scarlet smiled and nodded. "And your name is…" she inquired.

Daniel's face heated up slightly. "I haven't introduced myself, have I?" he thought aloud. He held out a hand for Scarlet to shake. "Daniel Gotzon. Random student from Beacon," he introduced himself.

Azura inhaled deeply. "Did you say Gotzon?" she asked.

Daniel blinked in surprise. "Yes, why does it matter?"

Azura looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry about your sister. And your father."

Daniel's breath hitched as his eyes started to water. "H-how did you know about that?" he stuttered.

Azura pat the seat next to her, and Daniel gladly took it, staring at Azura intently. She sighed. "Your mother used to work high up in the government," she explained, "She commonly worked alongside my colleagues and me."

"How did I not know this?" Daniel gaped.

Azura looked at Daniel sympathetically. "Most likely to keep you protected. You see, your mother was a diplomatic informant for Mistral and Atlas. Probably _the_ best informant we have ever had. If I remember correctly, the White Fang were behind the attack that led to your family's… end. This might've been a scare tactic to dissuade Hazel from becoming too involved with Atlas- they did hate how most of the higher ups treated their species like trash."

Daniel held his head in his hands while Scarlet pat his back comfortingly, awkwardly listening in on the conversation.

Azura smiled lightly. "Did she every tell you some of the stories of when she was negotiating deals?" she asked with a silent laugh.

Daniel peeked from between his fingers, his interest renewed. "Not really…" he admitted.

Azura let out a musical laugh. "While being one of the most effective, Hazel was also the most entertaining representative that ever came into our governments. One time, she and a few members from Atlas's government apparently staged a small sit-in to get a negotiation deal underway."

Daniel cracked a smile. "That sounds like my mom," he agreed, "Any infamous pranks she pulled on you guys?"

Azura laughed at the memories that were resurfacing. "Oh, that was a staple. At one point, it was once a week."

They continued to exchange stories about Hazel Gotzon until they were red in the face from laughing too hard. For a while, Daniel forgot all about where they were and who he was talking to, enjoying the adventures his mother apparently went on for a long time. Eventually, he looked at his scroll to check the time, only for his eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates. "Oh, shoot," he cursed under his breath, "Ruby's going to kill me when I get back."

"Who?" Azura asked.

"My girlfriend," Daniel explained, getting up from where he was seated, "Well, it was nice talking to you, Azura. You too, Scarlet."

Scarlet and Azura smiled as they waved Daniel goodbye. Daniel quickly made it back to where Ruby, Yang, and Blake were previously sitting but only saw Yang and Blake sitting at the table. "Where's Ruby?" Daniel asked.

Yang stared Daniel in slight confusion. "Didn't you take her with you?" she reminded.

"We split up because a girl asked me to dance with her," Daniel replied, turning his head rapidly around to try and find his partner.

Yang's expression hardened as she glared slightly at Daniel. "Excuse me?" she asked menacingly.

"Ruby was cool with it," Daniel explained, "And Jaune took her to dance as well, so we-," At that, he realized what he just said. "Shoot, Jaune has her!" He ducked out the ballroom quickly with Yang still glaring at him. Daniel took out his Scroll only to find that he already had about 4 missed calls from Jaune. Daniel paled slightly as he called back, the call connecting almost immediately. "Hello?" Daniel started.

"Daniel, where are you?!" Jaune asked. Daniel was about to reply when Jaune interrupted, "Never mind. Listen, Ruby's in the bathroom, and Pyrrha and I can't get her out. I think her stomach's… acting up."

At those words, all the blood in Daniel's face drained out. "Where you guys at?" he demanded.

"At the bathrooms. Just outside the ballroom and to the right. We'll be around it."

Daniel said a quick 'thanks' right before hanging up, sprinting towards where Jaune's directions led. Eventually, he saw Jaune pacing anxiously in front a door with Pyrrha leaning against the wall calmly. When Daniel got closer, he noticed the tenseness in Pyrrha's face and posture. "Ruby's still inside?" Daniel asked.

Jaune jumped at Daniel's voice. But, noticing who it was, he relaxed slightly. "Yeah," he said tiredly, "Sorry about Ruby- one moment, we were dancing. The next, she was turning green and running out the room."

Daniel sighed as he put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "It's fine. I guess you and I can't catch a break from surprises today." He turned from Jaune and knocked on the woman's restroom. "Ruby? It's Daniel. You okay?" he asked.

"Go away," a nasal voice answered.

Daniel looked back at Pyrrha and Jaune, motioning them to go back to the ball. Jaune nodded hesitantly before dragging a reluctant Pyrrha back to the dance. Daniel turned back to the door. "You know I can get Yang to drag you out, right?"

After a few seconds, the door creaked open with Ruby peeking through a crack in the doorway. "You wouldn't do that," Ruby claimed.

Daniel managed to crack a soft smile. "Come on," he said, holding his hand out. Ruby reluctantly took it, letting Daniel pull her along. "You want to go back?" Daniel asked. Ruby nodded in confirmation, and Daniel continued guiding her toward the exit, sending Yang a message via Scroll reading: " _Ruby's not feeling well. Nothing to worry about, but gonna take her back just to be careful._ "

Ruby was silent all the way through the journey back, only talking once they were back at the dorms. "You didn't have to leave with me. You could've stayed with the girl you were dancing with."

Daniel stared back at her. "What do you mean by that?" he implored.

Ruby looked at him pointedly. "You spent a long time with her," she observed.

Ruby's tone had a very slight dangerous sound to it and, " _Was that jealousy?_ " Daniel wondered. "I didn't really spend much time dancing with Scarlet," he claimed, his hands raised in a surrendering gesture, "I was talking to her and her mom. Apparently, Scarlet's mom was friends with mine before we moved."

Ruby's expression softened before she quietly sighed in relief. Daniel noticed the sigh and pulled Ruby into a one-armed hug. "Don't worry," Daniel said with a small chuckle, "I'm not gonna leave you. I promise."

Ruby smiled and rested her head against the side of Daniel's chest. "Still," she drawled, "you could've stayed with the others at the dance."

Daniel stared at Ruby in bewilderment. "Why would stay there? The only reason I was going wasn't going to leave by themselves."

Ruby blushed at Daniel's words. "I guess we should… do something while we wait for the others," she commented.

Daniel tilted his head in thought. After a second or two, he smirked. "Meet me at the rooftop in ten minutes with your comfiest clothes," he instructed. When Ruby shot Daniel a skeptical look, he added, "Trust me."

With a small, happy sigh, Ruby nodded and left for her room. In those ten minutes, she put on her white sweatpants with rose prints and a black tank top. Oh, and her signature red cape- just for comfort. Ruby found herself walking up the stairs to the roof. When she got there, she saw Daniel in a bland outfit- black sweatpants and a red t-shirt-, sitting cross-legged and looking down at the city. "I'm here," she announced awkwardly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Daniel looked back and shot Ruby a lopsided grin. "Have a seat," he said, patting the spot next to him. Ruby accepted the invitation, leaning against Daniel's shoulder. A few seconds of comfortable silence ensued. Then, Daniel started, "Today was pretty great, wasn't it?"

Ruby snorted softly, playfully bumping Daniel with her shoulder. "If you call embarrassing yourself by throwing up at a ball, then I consider it great," she sassed.

Daniel smiled. "Come on- I bet you had fun dancing," he declared, brushing a loose strand of hair out of Ruby's face.

Ruby rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "Alright, it was pretty fun," she relented.

Daniel looked back towards the distance, staring at a particularly lit up foundation flooded with people. "Today was perfect for me. Well, almost."

"Almost?" Ruby echoed, "How's that?"

Daniel gently cupped Ruby's head in his palms. "Well, I have yet to kiss my girlfriend today."

As Ruby was comprehending what Daniel just said, he leaned in, arm around Ruby's waist, and kissed her straight on the lips. Ruby stiffened for just an instant, making Daniel falter slightly. His courage was renewed when Ruby's hands went to his hair, pulling him in closer.

Now, up until this point, any kisses the couple had exchanged had been relatively chaste and usually were quick pecks. This was not one of those kisses. Passion was pouring out of both of them as they tried to express their love and pour their heart out in just a single action lasting a few seconds, their mouths moving in sync. Somehow, without breaking the moment, Ruby ended up on Daniel's lap, continuing to deepen the kiss and wrapping her legs around Daniel's waist. After what felt like a century had passed, Daniel and Ruby pulled away, red-faced and breathing heavily, but with giant, megawatt grins brightening their faces. ( **AN: And that's about as far as I'm allowing this story to go. Okay? Okay.** )

"Wow," Ruby breathed. A dazed expression donned her face. She was intoxicated with love, giddy for more.

"Yeah," Daniel agreed, bumping foreheads with a smile, "Wow." He stared into Ruby's eyes tenderly, caressing her cheek, making Ruby shudder involuntarily.

"You know we're both crazy, right?" Ruby whispered, "I'm a girl that's dying, and you're probably going to die if Yang ever finds out about this."

Daniel grinned. He leaned down and teasingly kissed Ruby's neck, making her shiver. "Eh," he shrugged off, "Life's short, anyways. Why not make the best out of it?"

Ruby smiled contently as she leaned into his chest, feeling Daniel's arms wrap around her shoulders and waist. "Mine," she claimed, hugging him around his torso.

Daniel smiled, squeezing her softly. "Yours," he vowed.

 _"He's mine. Forever."_

 _"She's mine. Forever."_

 **AN: This chapter was brought to you by- Classical music. Classical music: the only thing I listened to for a month straight, just to get into the mood for a formal dance (I've memorized songs from the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Hungarian Dance, and Flight of the Bumblebee just from how much I played them. Also, I can honestly say I despise and enjoy Waltz in A-flat Major just for how often it appears in my playlist).**

 **Also in part by AP European History. AP European History: where stress is higher than anything I have ever faced, even if it gives me some inspiration on what things should look like.**

 **With the help of viewers like you. Thank you! (Sorry, I just had to do that. Too good of a chance to pass up.)**

 **Anyways… Hey guys, Fireflame here. While I was still writing, I kept thinking to myself, "** _ **This is so short. This is supposed to be a really special chapter, and I'm barely making it to 6000 words.**_ **" So, I was sort of stressed out about how little I thought I was writing. Then, I remembered how much research I put into this. And then I realized I still had about 3k more words to go, so it was about fine.**

 **Enough about my anxiety over this story, WE DID IT! 6 months of at least 2 chapters a month! I honestly was about to abandon this story on chapter 4 since I felt like it wasn't gonna pick up off the ground, but you guys are just straight up amazing and managed to convince me with 4 reviews. So, shout out to TypicalHarshReviewer, DePlexx, Durandal II, and the Guest.**

 **Ok, REVIEW ANSWER TIME!**

 _(Chapter 5) Jordanlink7856: This is one of the coolest semblance ideas I've ever seen. not something cliche like pyrokinesis or strength. Wait, scratch that, the way you use it is amazing. I love this already, honestly._

 _(Chapter 4)Jordanlink7856: Awww, there's so much personality in this! Too bad I have a feeling things are gonna get dark soon._

 **Thank you! I also really appreciate a good story that is obvious the author actually spent time on it instead of copy-pasting a plotline from another story. No, things aren't gonna get dark soon. As in, we have about a month before I try another plot twist. Also, I took a ton of inspiration from Full Metal Alchemist, including Daniel, a few plot ideas I'm going to put in, Finnick's personality (tried to go slightly Armstrong), and random elements and names I've pulled.**

 _Boyy2k: Your story is good… *crosses arms* I hate what you're doing with it, but your story is excellent. But, sides from those two minor details, I have thoroughly enjoyed your story._

 **And that, my readers, is around the intended action I wanted. A thin line between "You're amazing" and "I hate you so much".**

 _Alternet RedSkys: Hmm. Interesting. You managed to get a nice vibe for the story dark but not too dark. Something that I find is rare. Anyways it's great that you've been writing for so long._

 **Uh, yeah, no. This is my first story outside of schoolwork, so I have about 6 months of experience. Thanks for the compliment, though! As I stated, I tried to get that balance between "Awww," and "AHHHH!"**

 _Apolios: Jack… Bruah, prepare for defeat…_ **(I'm not going to type the entire thing because you're too great... and there's some vulgar stuff. That and it would probably boost the story a good 500 words, which I'm not doing.)**

 **First off, who's Jack? Your opponent is JAKE Hallows, not Jack. I'm just imagining you running into a random house and punching a Jack Hallows in the face and then saying, "Whoops, wrong person." The talk about Yang's death in the intro was a JOKE, man. It was something I would do… in an alternate universe. Not this one. Also,** _ **THIS WILL FOREVER BE WILTING ROSE.**_ **Repeat after me: Wilting (As in, dying). Rose (As in, Ruby).**

 **The problem with an OC that's fast and bulky is that I can't really balance that with no attack. It's just that if you're fast while still being bulky, you're going to be insanely fast, making up for the lack of a good attack. It's doable but extremely tedious.**

 **Again, IT'S JAKE. NOT JACK. He hasn't taken anything as of this point. If anything, I have half a mind of wanting to try and incorporate his OC in my story. Also, I'm trying to get better at fight scenes by myself, but you're probably the first person I'd go to if I want help on that.**

 **Yep. That was it, Apolios. The point of no return. Also, I feel a bit guilty but also** _ **really**_ _ **freaking**_ **proud that I made you feel like that. I understand why authors start killing off cool characters now… Anyway, back on topic- the point of no return has been achieved. This is nowhere near the climax. This is maybe the 3** **rd** **highest emotional point. Really hope that this part was up to your standards. If not, I apologize: I got stressed.**

 **Yeah, I'm never going to do DRWBY, although the still spell dewberry if you rearrange the R. As you can see, they're going to have power-exchange problems. Also, Daniel was more independent. Even though he was part of a team, that team was really "fend for yourselves and help each other a lot" instead of RWBY's close teamwork. Hope I explained that clear enough.**

 **(*Rubs the back of my head*) Yeah, sorry if I'm giving you gray hairs from anxiety out of this. On the other hand, your review is amazing to read. "Man, f*** this s***, I'm sad." Comedy gold to me.**

 **Thank you so much for your support, Leader of the Deltas. Thank you for your reviews, your encouragement, and just you overall in my story. Here, have a cookie ( : : )**

 _Dan Song: Keep this up man! Even if it takes you a year to find time to get this done you still got my support! Keep up the good writing!_

 **Aww, thank you! I plan for this to go on for an entire year, so that means until May rolls around, and then maybe further. I've already made enough time for quite a lot of content, but it's the content part that's getting me. I have the next 4 chapters planned, and then it's the writer's wall. And then the ending 3 chapters. Yeah, weird to say the least.**

 _G3r1k: Hi. I'm here. I'm not late am I? The balls still rolling? (The story ball not my… you know what never mind.) So you've given some hope to the story. Now it's a waiting game to see if the rope is cut or if the floor completely drops. And I'm glad your friend is still out there…_ **(Cut out something semi-personal)** _Anywho, I can't wait for the next chapter, also as a side note I'm voting for the 'Ruby pulls through' ending. If that's not an option then… I'm going to need some more ice._

 **Enough about balls, this isn't an M-rated story, no matter how hard any of you will plead. I'm not going to cut the rope. I'm going to shatter the bridge and both cliffs on either side, dragging everyone down into sadness. Not yet, though… your feelings are safe… (for now).**

 _Drake187: Things aren't entirely FUBAR! (at least not yet) Whatever this clinical trial is, I'm interested in seeing what the possible ramifications are. Even if it does succeed, (and I'm being honest, I wouldn't bank on those odds under almost any circumstance. Ruby's situation is probably the only way I'd consider it) I'd bet my right nut that there's gonna be complications arising from the treatment. In hindsight, I probably should've seen something like this coming from the story's title and description. I just couldn't see Ruby of all people getting a disease as bad as cancer._

 **Not gonna be FUBAR. Well, maybe the ending scenes, but that's about it. You're the only person that actually commented on the title and got it… mostly. But like, it's Wilting** _ **Rose**_ **. Did you think Neo was the one getting it? A little about the trial before I announce it in story: it's going to be a Semblance. You ever heard of psychic surgery? It's basically that concept, but actual surgery without breaking the skin instead of a glorified magic trick. The procedure's going to have a really low chance, as I've already stated, but it's going to be 'high risk, high reward'.**

 **Now that I got reviews out of the way, onto a few skeptics. I had no intention of making Weiss look weak. Whenever we've seen her use glyphs, it's been mostly propulsion. Even her black glyphs were used to slow down foes instead of complete immobilization. Think of it this way: which is easier- shoving someone off balance or holding them in a position so they can't move?**

 **I might be buttering you guys up for another shock. That's just something I might do. 95% likely, but not 100%. The next chapter's going to be sort of lighthearted as well, so don't worry. I'm still following my own timeline, so it's most likely going to be the date.**

 **Also, quick announcement. I'm going to be overseas for a good portion of December and maybe a small bit in January, so expect 1 chapter next month and 3 in 2017. Or don't, and expect 2 and 2 like I usually do.**

 **One last thing: HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE. Oh, some people don't celebrate that? ...HAPPY NOVEMBER, FOLKS! :D**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	17. Chapter 16: Beaches, Chemo, and Guests

**Hello, friends! Welcome back to Wilting Rose. Quick recap: freaking 18k views. 2k views in about half a month. And almost 100 followers. Thank you all so much.**

 _W4W- I feel like true love isn't born in a quick flash like lightning or at the moment when you look at someone. True love is a long time in the making. First it begins with a friendship, sweet and innocent. Love is falling, it's falling slowly into the arms of someone else. It's trusting someone with all your heart, that's what true love is, it's trust and beauty, hope and sacrifice. True love is not fast. It's falling slowly._

 _-Heart by Heart: by Luna-Incendia14_ ( **AN: If you haven't read this amazing fanfic, do it. It's amazing to all extents. It's a better story than this one by a good mile and a half… plus another light year or two.** )

 **DISCLAIMER: I own no part of RWBY or anything that looks like it's a copy. If it's anything named Dr. Treuse or Daniel Collin Gotzon, it's my idea. That's about it.**

Chapter 16: Chemo, Beaches, and Guest Stars

Daniel woke up to a soft pressure on his lips. Smiling, he blearily opened his eyes to see the ceiling of Team RWBY's room. Looking down slightly, Daniel was greeted by a pair of large, silvery orbs and a mop of black hair with red tints. "Morning, Ruby," he greeted, rubbing his eyes with the back of a hand.

Ruby smiled as she lightly pecked him on the lips. "I could get used to waking up like this," Daniel teased.

Ruby laughed as she nuzzled her head into Daniel's chest. "You were always the hopeless romantic," she commented, voice muffled.

Daniel then took a moment to gather in his surroundings. "Wait," he started, "How'd we get back here?"

Ruby looked up and at where they were. "Don't know," she admitted, "I think we fell asleep on the roof… together." Ruby blushed as she thought about last night.

Daniel soon joined Ruby, face heating up quickly. "Sorry about that…" he apologized, "I may have gotten carried away."

Ruby stared at Daniel unblinkingly. "Are you ashamed of what you did?" she asked.

"No, but-."

Daniel was silenced by another kiss. "Good," Ruby said with a smile, "Because I'm happy about last night too."

Daniel shared Ruby's smile, tightening his hold on Ruby which she gladly reciprocated. Daniel's gaze still lingered from his girlfriend. "Still," he started again, "how'd we get back here?"

"Aww, isn't that adorable," a familiar voice was heard from the door to their room.

"Oh no," Ruby groaned, piecing together what happened, "I think that's Yang…"

"And you'd be right, dear sis," Yang responded smugly, leaning against the doorframe, "You don't know how hard it is, trying to carry two people on a cloak."

Ruby let out a small, muffled scream of annoyance as her roommates laughed at her expense. "We tried to separate you two initially," Weiss explained with a hint of laughter, "but you two actually are inseparable."

Daniel sighed but managed out a laugh. "Guessing Yang's first instinct was to punch me off Ruby, right?"

Blake snorted. "Honestly?" she admitted, "pictures first, _then_ she was going to punch you."

"Blake!" Yang exclaimed, feeling betrayed. Blake just shrugged with the hint of a smirk on her face.

Daniel, Ruby, and Weiss all laughed at the two partners' exchange. "I guess I should be thankful that you didn't see what we did before we went to sleep," Daniel joked, winking at Ruby.

Ruby blushed a deep crimson as the others' eyes shot wide open. "Daniel," Yang growled, "What did you do to my sister?"

"Oh, nothing," Daniel said in a singsong voice, holding back his laughter.

"Daniel, you should probably shut up now," Ruby suggested firmly, prodding him a few times in the stomach.

Daniel kissed the top of Ruby's head. "Sorry, I'll let you explain it to Yang," Daniel stated with a chuckle while prying Ruby off himself.

Ruby's eyes widened as Daniel jumped down from the bed and onto the windowsill. "You jerk!" she shouted. Half of her wanted to laugh at what he was playing at, the other half wanted to punch Daniel, and she was leaning towards the latter.

"Daniel," Yang menacingly growled, "I freaking swear if you don't tell me now-."

"Sorry, no can do," Daniel announced out quickly, unfolding his wings, "I have places to be and people to see, preferably anywhere but here and any of your faces. Well, except one of them." Daniel's smile would've made the Cheshire Cat jealous as he winked again at Ruby.

Ruby hid her face behind her hands, but she started laughing uproariously. "You're dead the next time Yang sees you," she commented.

Daniel let out a bark-laugh. "Oh, don't I know it," he affirmed, "Well, gotta run!" He fell backward, giving the 4 girls a small salute.

"Daniel, you get back here and tell me what you did to my baby sis!" Yang yelled, running to and leaning over the window. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, for Daniel's case), Daniel was already gliding over Beacon, laughing like there was no tomorrow.

Yang slowly turned away from the window and stared straight at Ruby. "Ruby, what did you and Daniel do?" she asked intently.

Ruby blushed while sheepishly rubbing the back of the head. "Oh, you know… we did… couple stuff."

Yang rolled her eyes at the vagueness. "Any elaboration?" Yang asked impatiently. When Ruby didn't answer for a while, she sighed, "How many bases did Daniel make?"

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Bases?" she questioned.

Yang started ticking off her fingers. "There's kissing, then touching, oral-."

Blake slapped a hand over Yang's mouth before she could say any more, but it was still enough for Ruby to blush to new extremes, pulling her hood over her head. "It was just a kiss!" she blurted out, "Nothing else. Nothing else. Absolutely nothing else!"

Blake glared at her partner's bluntness, to which the only response she received was a shrug. "What?" she asked, "Daniel wasn't very clear on it."

Weiss sighed as she palmed her face. "Do you really have to be this blunt and bullheaded?" she asked rhetorically.

Yang didn't respond and instead hopped up and sat next to Ruby, silently laughing as she kept repeating denials and rushed explanations. "Chill out, Ruby," Yang chirped, "It's fine if Daniel hit a home run." In response, Ruby forced down the heat from her face and shoved her sister off the bed and onto the carpet with a thud.

"Jerk," Ruby muttered as Yang continued to holler in laughter.

"Love you too, sis," Yang shot back between laughs.

Weiss rolled her eyes, sighing as her hope in her teammates slowly dwindled. "Utter buffoons, I tell you," she complained about the sisters to Blake.

Blake looked at the pair of arguing sisters with a smile. "I don't know," she commented, "They've grown on me fairly quickly."

Out of the blue, Yang rushed over and slung an arm over Blake's shoulders, leaning her head against her cheek. "Aww, you're amazing too, Blake," she beamed as Blake's cheeks had a small rose tint forming in her cheeks.

Weiss sighed, turning around to leave the dorm. "I'll see you guys at breakfast," she claimed just before closing the door.

Just as Weiss shut the door, Ruby heard her Scroll ringing from her nightstand. Hopping out of bed, Ruby picked it up and found that Ozpin sent her the schedule. Of all her procedures. When she opened the document, her jaw dropped. "That's a lot of dates," she gaped.

Blake gently pushed Yang off herself to peer over her shoulder to look at the schedule, wincing slightly at how packed her schedule would be over the next few months. "A scan a day for half a week," Blake read aloud, "Chemo every 3 or so days. Semblance trials every four weeks. How do they expect you to do all these procedures and keep up with your school work at the same time?!" She took a closer look at the paper. "Wait… your chemotherapy is every three days, but it's supposed to take about a week to recover."

Ruby groaned as she threw her head back. "Increased recovery speed, thanks to my Semblance," Ruby explained. As she made her way to the closet, she said over her shoulder, "Expect me to be completely pooped every day, okay? I'll see you guys in an hour or so."

"Wait," Yang interjected, "Where 'ya going, sis?"

"My first scanning," Ruby replied with a small huff, her voice muffled by the clothes inside the closet.

"Need any company?" Blake asked, "Yang and I would gladly tag along."

"Yeah," Yang agreed, "We could come with you, Ruby."

"No, go with Weiss," Ruby suggested, "You should eat breakfast."

"So should you!"

"Can't. I have to go on an empty stomach."

"We can wait another hour or so for breakfast," Yang protested, starting to tire from the constant back-and-forth argument. Suddenly, her stomach gurgled loud enough for Ruby to hear, making Yang blush while covering her abdomen.

"Go," Ruby commanded, "I'll see you guys soon."

Blake sighed, reaching for the doorknob leading to the hall. "Nothing's going to change your mind, is it?" she asked.

"Nope."

Blake took ahold of Yang's arm. "Come on, let's go," she muttered.

"No," Yang said, taking her arm back from Blake. She knocked on the closet door. "Ruby, please," she pestered, "Let's just-."

The door swung open without warning, almost hitting Yang before she stopped it with a hand. "Yang, please," Ruby nearly begged, peeking her head out of the doorway, "Just… give me some time to be alone."

Yang stared into her sister's eyes for a few seconds. "Fine," she relented. Yang broodingly made her way back to Blake. "Let's go," she said, setting her jaw.

"Yang!" Ruby whined, "I just-." But Yang already left the room. Ruby sighed as she turned to Blake who was speechless from what she witnessed. "Can you tell Yang something for me?" Ruby asked with a small voice, "I just wanted some time alone- it didn't have anything to do with her. I just… I want some time alone to think about this."

Blake nodded in understanding as she walked out. Turning back, Blake peered around the doorframe at Ruby one last time. "I know how you feel," Blake assured, "Too much pressure on your shoulders to try and please everyone at once, right?" When she received a small nod of confirmation, Blake shot Ruby a smile. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Yang understands." And with that, Blake shot down the halls after her partner, hearing Ruby's "Thank you!" echoing down the hall.

 **-xX-Line Break-Xx-**

Ruby anxiously sat back on the hospital bed as her treatment was being pumped into her. Four days ago was the start of her treatments and scans, and she was already starting to hate it.

Day one: CAT scans.

Day two: PET and Semblance scans.

Day three was the worst- the doctors decided to surgically implant a small tube to connect her chest's vein with a small reservoir right under her skin. When Dr. Treuse described what they were actually doing, Ruby almost threw up, and that was just listening to it being explained. After it was in her chest, she fainted for a few minutes, much to the doctors' amusement.

She was given the previous day to rest before they started to try to fight her sickness. Even now, as she stared at the tube linking her chest port with the IV bag, Ruby couldn't believe what was happening. It felt… surreal to say the least. " _This is my life now,_ " Ruby thought bitterly. _A_ chill ran down her spine as she felt the cold substance continue to run through herself, trying to cleanse her of the mutated cells. As a caution, a few bands circled her abdomen and chest as Aura-inhibitors so the drugs weren't immediately rejected. A black cuff was placed on her arm to take her blood pressure regularly while wires ran on the opposite side to take other measurements. The last thing that they needed was already in the IV bag- a small dose of sedation.

"It's weird, isn't it," Dr. Treuse said as more of a statement. She stood next to Ruby, tapping her foot while glancing at the clock now and again.

Ruby nodded and immediately regretted it- the urge the vomit and nausea crept up, constricting her throat. "Yeah," she admittedly croaked.

Dr. Treuse's mouth quirked slightly at Ruby's response. "You know, you've lasted longer than anyone I've met," she claimed, "You've resisted throwing up…" she glanced at her watch, "five minutes longer than anyone I've met."

Ruby groaned as she shut her eyes tightly, trying to push down the feeling of bile crawling up her throat while holding onto the bed's fabric in a death-grip. She started hyperventilating, breathing rapidly through her nose. Dr. Treuse, almost like she was bored, handed a small bin to Ruby. Barely a second later, acidic fumes filled the air as Ruby unpacked the contents of her stomach. "And that's a record," Dr. Treuse joked lightly, "fifty-three minutes and forty-three seconds."

Ruby coughed out the rest of the vomit in her mouth. "Wahoo," she cheered unenthusiastically.

Dr. Treuse chuckled silently as she rinsed the bin in the sink. "Only six minutes to go."

Ruby groaned as she laid back. "I feel like I can't breathe," she panicked.

"That's natural," Dr. Treuse confirmed, "That's extremely common for everyone. Just sit up if you feel like that- it'll help clear up your airway."

Ruby obliged and sighed in relief when she felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her chest. Ruby yawned and giggled deliriously. "Can I go now?" she asked dreamily.

Dr. Treuse smiled. "I see the sedation is finally making you dizzy," she commented. Ruby nodded lazily, rubbing her eye with a fist. "Your friends are outside- you can go meet them when my watch beeps, but you're not allowed to leave the hospital unless I say you can."

"Okay, Miss," Ruby acknowledged.

"Doctor," Dr. Treuse corrected, "I didn't earn a Ph.D. for nothing."

Ruby giggled. "You sound like Professor Oobleck," she commented.

Dr. Treuse rolled her eyes. "That man?" she scoffed, "Please. Let him keep brushing rocks and studying history while we actually _make_ history."

Ruby's giggling increased madly as Dr. Treuse continued to rant over the difference between "actual sciences" and "fake science". Sooner than either of them imagined Dr. Treuse's watch rung. Her eyes widened slightly as she blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry," Dr. Treuse apologized, "I sometimes get carried away."

Ruby smiled broadly. "It's fine. It was actually really fun, listening to you." She glanced down at the small tube going into her side. "Now, can I get this out?" she asked.

Dr. Treuse quickly walked over and started fiddling with the machines. "Not yet," she replied, "Let me take it out. Right after I record some of the data."

Seconds passed as Dr. Treuse eventually unhooked Ruby from the machine. "Ok, you're all set," she stated, "I'll take you to your team now."

Ruby hopped down from the bed, replacing her hospital gown with her regular clothes and walked drunkenly alongside Dr. Treuse to a room next to where the chemo took place. When they opened the door, Ruby took note of the three tan sofas at the back of the room, forming a U-shape with Team DWBY sprawled out on them with a small table which held a few plates of food. Weiss, Blake, and Yang were sleeping on two of the couches with Daniel on the final one, tapping his foot impatiently as he stared at the ground in front of him. When he heard the door click open, Daniel looked up as Ruby and Dr. Treuse walked in. He jumped up to his feet and was at Ruby's side in an instant. "Heya, Daniel," Ruby greeted lazily, kissing his cheek and giggling deliriously.

"Hey, Rubes," Daniel greeted back, slightly baffled at Ruby's new behavior. He glanced at Dr. Treuse, hoping for an answer.

Dr. Treuse laughed as Ruby wrapped her arms around Daniel, sighing contently. "Sedation kicked in," the doctor explained, drawing a small nod of understanding from Daniel.

Daniel guided Ruby back to the open couch, sitting down with Ruby still seemingly attached to his hip. "Hey, guys," he called towards the three sleeping girls. When none of them stirred, he turned to Dr. Treuse. "Do you mind if I might get the couches wet?"

Dr. Treuse smirked as she stepped back from the girls. "Go ahead," she encouraged with a wave, "They need to be replaced anyway."

Daniel's grin turned mischievous in an instant as he started concentrating on the pocket of air right above each of the three girls. Snapping his fingers, a small bluish-white glow formed for an instant before dying just as quickly as it appeared. When it subsided, a handful of water appeared in midair, falling onto the faces of the three girls. They all woke up with a jolt, sputtering and wiping their faces off while simultaneously glaring. Daniel simply smiled cheekily while gesturing to the laughing doctor and the madly giggling Ruby. "They have something important to say," he needlessly announced.

Dr. Treuse nodded towards Daniel in thanks before turning to Ruby. "You should eat something," she suggested, gesturing to the table of food. She then looked back at the other students and started explaining what to expect for the next week or so.

Ruby nodded lazily before looking up to stare at Daniel intently. "Feed me," she slurred.

Daniel blinked in surprise. "What?" he asked.

"Feed me," Ruby repeated.

Daniel stared at Ruby for a few more seconds. "You're not acting like yourself right now," he commented.

"What are you talking about?" Ruby argued, "I'm the Ruby-est person there is!"

"And there it is," Daniel affirmed with a grin. When Ruby continued to stare at Daniel with big, silver eyes, he relented, "Alright, if you insist." He picked up a small plate of orange slices off the table with Ruby still latched onto his side. One of his arms draped around Ruby as the other picked up an orange slice. "Say 'ah'," Daniel ordered lightly, guiding the slice towards her mouth.

"Hey," Dr. Treuse joked lightly, "I'm the doctor here- you're not allowed to order people to do that."

Daniel rolled his eyes while holding up the slice. Ruby leaned forward to snatch the food from Daniel's hand, sitting back and smiling cheekily at him while she chewed. "Aww," the three girls cooed, smirking at Daniel and Ruby's interaction.

"Shut up," Daniel muttered, trying to push down the heat from his face. Ruby, too tired to even blush, yawned widely and somehow managed to snake under Daniel's arm, cuddling Daniel's side. Daniel shot her a soft, genuine smile while shifting his cloak so that it draped over Ruby like a blanket. Ruby sighed happily as she pulled her knees up to her chest, starting to nod off.

"G'night," Ruby murmured right before her eyes felt too heavy to keep open.

"It's like 2 PM," Daniel pointed out, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement.

"Don't care," Ruby mumbled with another yawn, "Sweet dreams." Ruby started snoring softly as she finally drifted off, crumpling up Daniel's jacket with her fist.

The girls and doctor stared smugly as Daniel unconsciously brushed a strand of loose hair away from Ruby's face, looking at her in adoration. A strand of giggles brought Daniel back to reality as he noticed the Scroll in Yang's hands. "And that's another photo," she stated with a grin.

"Ahem," Dr. Treuse cleared her throat, trying to compose herself after watching the couple, "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Daniel shot Dr. Treuse a small mock-glare, "Ruby will be out of it for a few hours. For the next 3 days or so, she's not allowed to lift anything heavier than probably her textbooks. Try not to get her incision wet or else it won't heal properly. Other than that, make sure she maintains a healthy diet."

Team DWBY nodded in confirmation. "Any side effects to this?" Weiss asked.

Dr. Treuse tilted her head in thought. "Well, there weren't any allergic reactions. Other than that, Miss Rose might experience some short-term memory loss, but that's about the extent of things. Get her to someone that can help if anything… abnormal does happen." She tapped her chin, trying to think if she missed anything important. When she couldn't, she added, "You're free to go now."

Blake gave her thanks with her teammates following suit. She turned around, backing away slowly to the door. "Well, let's head back to Beacon," she suggested.

"Good idea," Daniel agreed. But, he then had a moment of thought. "Guys, a little help?" he asked, lifting Ruby's head slightly. When he slipped his hand away, her head landed back onto Daniel's shoulder with a thump, barely stirring in the slightest.

Weiss let out a small huff despite donning a large smirk. "Well, let's see, I'm still trying to dry out my hair," she made her point clear by exaggeratingly wringing out her hair, "So I guess you will be the one responsible for your girlfriend."

Daniel sighed as he shifted slightly to a more comfortable position. "Give me a second, then," he started. Without jostling Ruby too much, Daniel bent down just enough to hook his arm under Ruby's legs, the other going around her back. With a small heave, he stood up, carrying Ruby in a bridal fashion. Ruby frowned slightly before settling down again, nuzzling into Daniel's chest. As she threw her arms around Daniel's neck, making him blush, Yang couldn't help but snap another photo. Daniel mock-glared at her. "Not helping," he commented.

"Wasn't intended to," Yang responded with a snicker.

"Can we please just go now?" Daniel begged as he moved closer to the door, "It's a little embarrassing, being seen like this."

Yang sighed dramatically, exaggeratingly rolling her eyes while putting down her Scroll. "Fine," she relented.

Daniel sighed in relief. "Thank you," he said.

Yang's smirk came back. "Don't thank me just yet," she teased, "You're still going to have to explain to Ruby these." She held up the pictures for Daniel to see.

With a red face, Daniel quickly left the room, yelling, "Nope, not my problem!" over his shoulder.

Weiss and Blake chuckled as Yang smugly put away her Scroll. "Daniel's going to have a lot of explaining to do," Weiss commented.

"Not yet," Yang mused, "I'll keep it. Just for safe-keeping."

"You should get going," Dr. Treuse advised, "The next airship leaves in… fifteen minutes." The three students' eyes shot open, waving her goodbye as they dashed down the halls.

 **-xX-Line Break-Xx-**

Ruby woke up staring at a mass of red fabric. Thinking it was her cape, she rested her head against it, rubbing her hair into the fabric. Shockingly, it rumbled as she heard her sister giggling from a distance along with another voice. "I guess she doesn't know the difference between a pillow and you," Yang teased.

"Shut up," an annoyed man's voice was heard. At the same time, Ruby felt the thing she was laying against rumble again.

Ruby didn't make the correlation as she once again closed her eyes, taking a deep breath through her nose. " _Why do I smell peaches?_ " she wondered, frowning slightly. A few seconds later, she groaned softly. " _Oh no,_ " Ruby thought. Ruby opened her eyes, slowly lifting her head up and away from what she laid on.

Indeed, when she lifted her head, Ruby stared at a blushing Daniel who was staring back down at her. She blushed as Daniel smiled adoringly at her, resting his cheek against the top of her head. Apparently, Ruby was still sleeping on Daniel's chest while she was somehow moved from the hospital room all the way to an airship without her realizing. "What happened?" she asked, widening her mouth in an enormous yawn.

Daniel smiled as he wrapped both of his arms around Ruby's waist, pulling back his head to look at Ruby. "A lot of stuff," he answered vaguely, "What do you remember last?"

Ruby rubbed an eye drowsily. "I remember Dr. Treuse going on a rant about how doctors of medicine are better than doctorates in geology and history. That's about it."

Daniel nodded. "Oh, you didn't miss that much," he assured, "Dr. Treuse just talked to us about what we were to expect for the next week or so. You fell asleep halfway through it, and we carried you back onto the airship."

"Correction," Blake interjected, " _You_ carried her back onto the ship."

Daniel groaned as he threw his head back. "You don't know how awkward it is, carrying a sleeping girl through a city. Everyone was looking at me like I was either kidnapping you or insane."

"Well, you are insane," Ruby teased, "You're still putting up with us, aren't you?"

Daniel shot Ruby a look. "Really feeling the love, guys," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Also," Yang added with a cocky smirk, "you and Ruby-."

"I'm going to stop you right there," Daniel interrupted suddenly, his face heating up.

"Wait," Ruby said, eyebrows furrowing, "What is Yang talking about?"

Daniel's face turned a more brilliant shade of red. "Nothing," he denied.

"Daniel Collin Gotzon, tell me what Yang's talking about," Ruby demanded with a serious expression.

Daniel stared at the girl at his side in surprise. "How do you know my middle name?" he asked.

"Not important," Ruby waved off, "What. Is. Yang. Talking. About?"

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "You were delirious from the sedation," Daniel explained reluctantly. When Ruby's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, Daniel quickly pulled her into a hug. "You didn't anything you'd regret," he assured, "But, you might be embarrassed by a few of the things that you made me do."

Ruby blushed as she thought of a few crude things. "Such as?" she implored hesitantly.

"Yang has a few pictures," Daniel diverted.

Ruby blushed even harder but managed to ignore it to glare at her sister. "Yang," she started dangerously, "Hand them over."

"No can do, little sister," Yang denied, "I'll just save them for… later."

The side doors of the airship opened with a hiss as a dozen or so students disembarked. "Yang!" Ruby shouted as the two sisters made a mad dash for the exit, "Get back here!"

Daniel looked back at the remaining two girls. "Is this the point we chase after them?" he asked.

Blake heaved a sigh as she started at a jog. "Unfortunately."

When they did catch up, however, they were halted in their tracks. Ruby was huddled on the floor, knees pulled to her chest with her head tucked between them. Yang, meanwhile, looked like she was going on a rampage with Team JNPR barely holding her back from Cardin, already on the ground while nursing a bloody nose. "What's going on here?!" Weiss demanded.

Pyrrha looked back at her with somber eyes. "Cardin overheard us talking about Ruby's treatment."

The three newcomers' eyes widened in understanding before Daniel's narrowed into slits. "Shit," he cursed himself.

"You guys also knew about this?" Cardin questioned.

"Yep," Daniel affirmed, draping an arm over Ruby's shoulders while Weiss and Blake flanked the pair.

Pretty soon, a crowd gathered around the argument, already preparing for a fight to break out. "Why is she still here, then?" Cardin asked rudely.

Weiss folded her arms across her chest, glaring at Cardin. "Because she's been given a chance to recover, you heartless, poor excuse for a human being."

"Oh, look," Cardin sneered, "Princess has gotten a little more bite. Face it, she's only here because she's got a few higher ups looking after her."

Yang's eyes turned a vivid red, struggling in Team JNPR's grasp. "You mean friends," Yang growled, "Friends that'll knock the shit out of you in an instant."

Cardin laughed mockingly as he got to his feet. "Are you serious?" he chided, "You're just proving my point. Look, she can't even defend herself."

Ruby's grip on her knees tightened, as well as her heart. Daniel planted a reassuring kiss on the top of Ruby's head before narrowing his eyes, getting up and striding over to Cardin. "Oh, grow up, Cardin," Daniel said, "Last time I checked, you couldn't last three minutes in the ring with her."

Cardin scoffed. "Last time you checked," Cardin pointed out, "she didn't have cancer." The crowd gasped at the revelation, now looking at Ruby in a new light.

"Does she really?"

"Can she still be a Huntress?"

"Why is she still here?"

Daniel looked at each and every person in the crowd right in the eyes. "Beat it," he growled. The crowd quickly dispersed, giving Daniel the opportunity a chance to focus his rage on one individual. "You know, I'm _so_ close to making JNPR let go of Yang right now."

Cardin snorted. "Why? Because I'm hitting you guys with a harsh dose of reality?" he asked rhetorically, "News flash, kids! This isn't a fairy tale! You don't get powers or abilities from mutants!" At the word mutants, small trails of tears started leaking from Ruby's eyes, "They get a lifetime of sadness. But what did Ruby do? Hide behind her friends and people that can protect her from reality to make herself delusional." Ruby started trembling with unspoken sobs, "I'm _so sorry_ if I'm making her see the truth, but I can't help it, watching the weak have to hide behind-."

"Mr. Winchester!" a voice boomed from behind the ranting individual. When he turned around, he saw a murderous Goodwitch looming over him. "A word in my office," she growled.

Cardin was about to shoot back a retort before looking into the professor's eyes. Normally, Glynda's eyes were small bursts of anger mixed with agitation or annoyance, depending on the individual. This was not one of those moments. Professor Goodwitch's glare was turned up a couple hundred notches, seemingly staring into Cardin's soul. Her message was clearly conveyed: " _Try me. I_ dare _you._ "

Cardin grumbled a bit before strutting down the hall, away from the two teams. "Freak," he muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately for him, Glynda wasn't yet out of earshot, earning him a small fling into one of the sides of the hall. Cardin semi-fearfully looked over his shoulder before running around the corner, just to get out of the madwoman's powers. The professor let out a restrained, livid sigh as she turned to storm after the fleeing student. Before she took more than a step, however, she looked over her shoulder at Ruby's slumped figure, her eyes softening ever so slightly. "Don't take Mr. Winchester's words to heart," she advised, "If you can make it through the procedures, and especially the schedule, then I assume you will be up for whatever a Huntress will face." And with that, she turned back around and stormed after Cardin.

With that small crisis adverted, Daniel sighed as he turned back to his friends. Team JNPR finally let go of Yang who glared at them murderously. The four just shrugged it off while crouching down next to Ruby. Yang's expression then took a complete 180 as she knelt in front of Ruby, pulling her sister into a hug. As Ruby broke down into Yang's shoulder, she soothingly brushed her hair back.

"Maybe he's right," Ruby sniffled, "Maybe I shouldn't belong here."

Daniel scowled, sitting down next to Ruby. "You don't really believe that do you?" he asked. When Ruby nodded, Daniel sighed. "Ruby, how long have you wanted to be a Huntress?"

"Since I was 4," she answered.

"And when did you get entered into Beacon?"

"15."

"So," Daniel stated, "You've just fulfilled a nine-year-long dream, and you're going to let a stupid meathead stop you?"

"But, what if he's right?" Ruby questioned, looking at him with bloodshot eyes, "What if I really don't belong here?"

Daniel playfully bumped her with his shoulder. "Ruby," he said softly, "Do you think Ozpin would let you join his school two years early?"

"People make mistakes," Ruby answered.

"And you're making a mistake for thinking that you don't belong here." Daniel offered his hand. "Come on, at least do _something_ besides thinking about leaving all day." When Ruby didn't budge, Daniel added, "Tell 'ya what- how about you're not allowed to think about this until our date on Saturday?"

"You still want to go on that?" Ruby asked in disbelief.

Daniel let out an exasperated sigh, bowing his head. "Ruby," he said after a few moments, "Sometimes you really are clueless."

"Hey!" Ruby exclaimed, some of the pessimism coming out of her voice, "Give me a break, will you?"

"I've been planning this thing for… what, two, three weeks? I'm not going to give it up just because _Cardin_ of all people was able to dissuade my girlfriend," Daniel declared, "What'd you say: another three days?"

Ruby wiped away her tears and tried on another smile. "Three more days," she agreed.

"Perfect!" Daniel exclaimed, clasping one of her hands in his. He turned to the rest of his team. "Can you guys get Ruby back to the room? I have to talk to JNPR about something."

Yang nodded, looking down the hall with a slight glare. "If Cardin tries to pull that again…" she growled dangerously.

"We won't hold you back," Blake vowed, rolling her eyes at her partner's protectiveness.

"Can we please go back?" Ruby asked in a small voice, "I want to lay down for a bit."

Yang tried to crack a smile. "Of course," she said softly, "Come on, I don't think tiles are going to be good for your back." As she, Weiss, and Blake herded Ruby down the hall, Yang turned back around. "Coming, Daniel?"

Daniel shook his head. "Nah, I have something to talk about with Team JNPR."

Pyrrha looked at Daniel indifferently. "You do?" she asked.

Daniel nodded. Leaning in, he whispered, "It's supposed to be a secret from Ruby, but I may need your guys' help. You know… for the date."

Yang shrugged. "Okay, if you say so. Just remember we have class in like an hour," she reminded.

Daniel sent the girls a two-fingered salute. "Will do," he replied. When they were out of the hallway, he turned back around to the confused team. "Now, who in your team can actually cook something decent?" he asked with a sheepish expression.

 **-xX-Line Break-Xx-**

It was about 3 in the afternoon on that third day, and currently, Ruby was studying in the library, trying to lose herself in the music that was being blasted from her headphones. So far, she had another chemo the day before because the doctors used her speed Semblance to their advantage (or, in Ruby's perspective, her disadvantage) to fit in more treatments in a small timeframe. As she was searching through a textbook, Ruby felt her headphones being pulled away as a set of hands blocked her vision. "Guess who?" a familiar voice teasingly asked mere hair-lengths away from her ear ( **AN: If anyone can guess where I'm getting my "units of measurement", you are amazing. Because it's a pretty obscure reference.** _ **I'll give you a hint: Fox-lengths and cats**_ ).

"Gee," Ruby said, sarcasm dripping from her voice, "Is it Yang?"

"Well, I mean," the voice pondered, "We both are pretty awesome."

Ruby rolled her eyes, realizing he couldn't see them because they were being covered. "Probably shouldn't be saying that about a girlfriend's sister, Daniel," she exasperated.

Daniel pouted as he removed his hands from her eyes. "Aw, you're now fun," he gently teased.

Ruby giggled as she turned around in her chair, sitting backward. "What's up?" she asked.

Daniel grinned broadly as he gave his girlfriend a chaste kiss on the lips. "Well, I may or may not have finalized everything for our date," he explained.

Ruby rested her head on the top of the chair, looking at Daniel inquiringly. "Oh, pray do tell," she went on.

"Not yet," Daniel said, smiling, "All I will tell you is wear something warm and comfy and meet me at 6:30 at the front of Beacon, near the fountain. Oh, and wear sandals!"

Ruby nodded, putting on an adorable smile. "Alright," she agreed, not really sure what to make of the last request, "If you say so."

Daniel smiled back, then proceeded to lean over Ruby's workspace. "So, what're you working on?" he asked.

 **-xX-Line Break-Xx-**

Ruby was currently tapping her foot impatiently, sitting on a bench next to the fountain right outside Beacon's entrance. "Where is he?" she asked herself. Ruby did what Daniel had asked for: meeting him in front of the fountain in specific clothes- a gray shirt under a red and white striped sweater that went past her fingertips and a pair of gray sweatpants. Oh, and of course the black sandals. Ruby let out a huff, taking a quick glance at her Scroll.

6:33.

Ruby sighed as she put away her device. As soon as she did, she felt it vibrate. Hopeful, she took it out quickly, hoping it was Daniel. It was, but not exactly what she had in mind.

All the message read was, " _Stand up and take 3 steps forward._ "

Confused, she nonetheless obliged and stood a few steps in front of where she once sat. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she waited for something to happen.

It wasn't long before she got what she wished for. Barely a few seconds later, she was swept off her feet. Literally. Ruby let out a small yelp as arms hooked under her armpits, lifting her off her feet and into the air. What surprised her was what happened after that. Instead of being set down, she realized she was being carried off her feet like someone was… gliding… while carrying her.

Ruby looked over her shoulder, staring at the smug expression of Daniel. "Okay, you can put me down," Ruby told him.

Daniel seemed to ponder this for a moment before happily replying, "Nope!"

"Hey, that's my line!" Ruby exclaimed indignantly.

"Too bad," Daniel said smugly, "I'm stealing it for the moment."

Ruby huffed, fake-pouting while crossing her arms under her chest. "It'd better be a good date, then," she teased Daniel.

Daniel responded with a soft peck on Ruby's cheek. "Don't worry, it will be," he assured. He carried her until they were both touching down on a familiar beach. "We're here!" he proclaimed, breathing in deeply and arching his back.

Ruby just stared at what was in front of them. Set out about a good arm-length or two away from the tide was a cliché picnic scene, complete with a red-and-white checkered blanket and small basket, lit up by a few Dust crystals scattered around it. She turned around to Daniel, a small smile on her face. "It took you three weeks to come up with a picnic on the beach?" she teased.

Daniel pouted, slumping his shoulders. "I guess I'm going to have to reconsider this date, then," he said with a small, fake sniffle.

Ruby let out a genuine, heartwarming laugh as she wrapped her arms around Daniel's neck. "It was a joke," she reassured, "I love it!"

Daniel smiled as he quickly reciprocated the hug. "We should probably start the date now," he pointed out teasingly.

Ruby pulled back, looking into Daniel's eyes with an expression that said, " _Really?_ " "You know just how to ruin a moment," she commented.

Daniel's smile turned into a cheeky grin. "Well, I guess we better make a few more, just to make up for it," he answered, making Ruby giggle and blush. "Shall we?"

Ruby laughed at Daniel's pseudo-formality. "We shall," she answered with a rich aristocratic accent. Ruby suddenly yelped as she was jerked forward by Daniel who was racing over to the picnic. "Slow down," Ruby laughed.

Daniel cockily looked back at the girl he was bringing in tow. "Says the speedster," he teased.

Ruby blew away a stray strand of hair away from her face. "Sick person, here," she reminded offhandedly.

"So?" Daniel replied. When Ruby didn't have an answer, Daniel continued to drag her towards the blanket. Once they got there, Daniel bent down and picked up a small bundle of white and red flowers. "These are for you," Daniel said, handing the bouquet to Ruby.

Ruby smiled while accepting the gift. "What types are these?" she asked, taking a small whiff of the fresh, leafy smell of the flowers.

"Roses," Daniel answered, "You know, like your namesake."

Ruby looked slightly confused. "Then, why are some of them white?"

Daniel blinked a few times, taking in what Ruby just said. "Did you say 'why are some of them white'?" he clarified.

"Yeah," Ruby replied.

Daniel sat down on the blanket, putting his head in his hands. Afraid she did something wrong, Ruby sat down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Surprisingly, she felt Daniel shaking with held back laughter. "Holy cow, my girlfriend's clueless," Daniel hollered, finally losing it.

Ruby huffed indignantly while setting the bouquet next to her. "Hey, I don't know a thing about flowers except for a couple of names," she insisted.

"You should at least know the colors, though!" Daniel exclaimed.

Ruby groaned, pulling her knees up to her chest and planting her face firmly into her legs. Daniel slung an arm around her waist, pulling Ruby into his side. "Aww, don't be like that," he teased, "It's not that weird… sorta."

"I hate you," Ruby claimed, her voice muffled by her pants.

"Hate's such a strong word," Daniel warned.

"Not strong enough."

Daniel let out a small chuckle as he brought a small basket of food from behind them into view. "Let's just eat now," Daniel suggested.

Ruby straightened out her legs, looking directly at Daniel cheekily. "That's your first good idea today," she sassed.

Daniel rolled his eyes as he took out a small container full of sandwiches. "I guess you don't want a turkey sandwich since you _never_ eat any of those," he tempted.

Ruby snatched the box out of Daniel's hands, holding them close to her chest. "That was mine," Daniel whined, getting Ruby to stick her tongue at him childishly.

Ruby took the sandwich out of the container, making a big show of taking a large bite out of it, chewing slowly. A few moments later, she spat out her mouthful. "Blah," she spat, "Ham!" ( **AN: Turkey Ham. Fact.** )

Daniel cracked up, holding up the second box. "You fell for it!" he gasped between fits of laughter.

Ruby held Daniel by the collar of his shirt. "Daniel," she growled, "You give me my sandwich right now."

"Isn't the one you took yours?" Daniel asked innocently. When he received a slightly rough smack on the arm, Daniel relented, "Fine, you can have 'your' sandwich." He handed her the food she wanted, rubbing his now sore arm.

Ruby grinned victoriously, giving the now mock-brooding Daniel a small peck on the lips. "Thank you!" she giggled.

Daniel grumbled a bit before taking back the sandwich Ruby already took a bite out of. "I'll never understand you and your mood swings," he grumbled.

Ruby smirked back at Daniel. "Says the guy that pulls a prank or joke every three minutes," she shot back.

The couple kept throwing playful verbal jabs at each other all throughout dinner. Eventually, Ruby collapsed onto her back. "I'm stuffed," she claimed, a small smile gracing her lips as she closed her eyes and put her hands behind her head.

"Don't close your eyes just yet," Daniel advised. Ruby peeked one eye open to look at Daniel, who was leaning backward on his arms. "Look," he said, pointing to the sky.

Ruby's gaze followed in the direction of Daniel's finger, her second eye shooting wide open in an instant. "Wow," she breathed in amazement. Above them, away from the city and Beacon, was the night sky, filled with hundreds of thousands of stars, all seemingly blinking and blending with the ocean. "It's beautiful."

Daniel smiled at Ruby's reaction. "Come here," he said, beckoning towards Ruby. Ruby obliged, still transfixed with the stars above them. Daniel laid back, folding his hands across Ruby's stomach. Ruby laced her dainty fingers with Daniel's, making them smile softly.

"How did you manage to find this place?" Ruby marveled, looking up in amazement.

"Honestly," Daniel admitted, "Pure coincidence and guesswork. Although the view isn't as good as the one I have right now."

Confused at what he meant, Ruby shifted her head sideways and looked at Daniel, making eye contact with a smirking, smug Crow faunus that was staring intently at her. Ruby laughed. "You're way too cheesy for your own good," she teased.

Daniel's smirk broadened as he planted a kiss in the center of Ruby's forehead. She shivered slightly, giving him an idea (One he may or may not later regret slightly). Daniel rolled up the edges of the blanket they were laying on, wrapping them both up in a cocoon of cloth. "Still cold?" he asked softly, his mouth brushing Ruby's ear, his hot breath brushing against Ruby's skin. Ruby blushed a deep crimson, making Daniel chuckle silently. "You know, it's a bit too easy to get you flustered," he commented.

Ruby, instead of blushing harder, managed a small smirk. In response, she turned onto her stomach, nuzzling her nose into Daniel's neck. When she pulled back slightly, she could see the red of his face as clear as day. "What was that about being easy to fluster?" she asked innocently.

Daniel laughed, tightening his hold around Ruby. "Touché," he laughed, Ruby joining in after a heartbeat.

The pair of them stayed like that for a long time. Eventually, Daniel reluctantly said, "Ruby, I think we should go back."

"No," Ruby groaned, pressing her face farther into Daniel's chest, "I wanna stay."

Daniel laughed. "I'm pretty sure if I don't get you at least inside Beacon by nine, Yang's probably going to kill me on sight."

"Maybe not on sight," Ruby corrected. She let out a small sigh. "Fine," she relented, "We can go back."

Daniel waited for Ruby to get off him before starting to pack everything up. "We could probably share this with Yang and the rest of them," he stated, handing the basket to Ruby.

Ruby shook her head as Daniel hooked his arms under Ruby's, preparing for their flight. "Nope, it's all mine now."

Daniel chuckled at his girlfriend's antics. "Technically, it's Ren's since he made it for us," he pointed out.

"Nope!" Ruby quipped happily.

Daniel sighed in adoration as they lifted off. "Let's just head back."

When they reached Beacon's entrance, it was just over 9 at night. As they drew closer and closer, they could see three familiar figures waiting- one a fiery blonde, a brunette with a bow, and a girl with white hair tied into a ponytail. "Oh no," Daniel and Ruby chorused.

"Well," Yang started as the returning couple finally returned, "Looks like someone took their sweet time."

"Wouldn't you, if you were on a date?" Daniel replied.

"Fair enough," Yang admitted, "But next time, bring Ruby back before 9."

Ruby let out a tired groan. "Yang," she whined, "I'm _16_."

"Doesn't matter, baby sis," Yang declared with a smirk.

"What are you all up for?" Daniel asked the girls, trying to save Ruby from a completely avoidable argument.

"Training," Weiss replied, motioning towards the rapier pinned on her side, "We were heading back until Blake noticed a duo flying through the air."

Daniel nodded in understanding. "Yep, that was us," he affirmed, "Come on, we should probably head back."

Daniel was arm-in-arm with Ruby, walking back to the dorms when Yang grabbed his arm. "Not so fast," Yang said, "You're not getting away that easily."

Daniel sighed as he turned around. "I guess you want to know what happened during the date, right?" he asked. When he received a nod in response, he turned to Ruby. "Gone on ahead without me," he suggested, "I'll see you in the morning."

Ruby's expression hardened slightly. "Nope. If Yang's going to interrogate you, I want to be…" she interrupted her speech with a yawn, "a part of it."

Daniel looked at Ruby, amused. "Go get some sleep," he said softly. When Ruby didn't budge, Daniel added, "I can probably take Yang if she tries to kill me."

With that, Ruby sighed in defeat. "I'll see you tomorrow," Ruby claimed, ending her night with a kiss with her boyfriend. After she left Daniel slightly dazed, Ruby skipped off back to the dorms, the basket in her hands swaying side to side with every step.

Daniel turned back to the three girls who were watching his and Ruby's exchange with smug, amused smiles. "Alright," Daniel started, "Bring on the questions."

"Where did you take Ruby?" Yang fired.

Daniel replied, "If you couldn't tell already, we went on a picnic. Down by the beach."

"I thought you said you couldn't cook," Blake reminded.

"Not my cooking," Daniel explained, "Ren is the master chef out of all of us."

"No argument there," Yang admitted. Then with a broader smirk, she asked in a singsong voice, "How'd it go?"

Daniel smiled. "Pretty well, I believe. I made Ruby eat part of a ham sandwich."

Weiss blinked. "Ruby despises ham," she stated, "And I do mean, despise. As in, she wouldn't let Crescent Rose touch."

Daniel's grin stretched ear-to-ear. "And that's why it was a success," he clarified.

"Ouch," Blake said with a small laugh, "I take it her reaction was less than stellar?"

"My arm still hurts from when she punched me," Daniel joked, rubbing his arm for emphasis.

The four of them shared a laugh at their assumptions being proven correct. Ruby was still Ruby. "Well," Yang started, "It's getting pretty late. Let's head back now." And just because she was Yang, Yang added, "And that doesn't mean you're sleeping with Ruby again, Daniel."

Before Daniel could defend himself or even shoot back a retort, a stranger's voice was heard from the shadows of night. "So this is Daniel, hmm?" it spoke. A man popped out from behind the fountain, dressed in tattered black kimono with a sword hanging from his belt. "Strange, Blake- I wouldn't have assumed that, when in danger, you'd run to a person who hates you," he thought out loud, his voice slightly layered with disapproval.

The voice was familiarly chilling for two people. One hoped to never hear it again, and one wished to hear it only in the best of times. Blake turned towards the fountain with bated breath, barely believing what her ears told her.

"Adam."

 **AN: You know, I was about to end the chapter at the end of the date, but then I thought, "Hmm, I haven't made my readers hate me enough". So, cliffhanger! My first big one, yay!**

 **Hey guys, Fireflame here. Thanks for tuning back in to read this story- I really appreciate it. Anyways, let's get to the reviews. Also, small, personal milestone: only about 28 mistakes before I edited this (yay!).**

 **knight7572: Will the legendary silver eyed warrior powers be showing up? No, they will not. I just don't like how Roosterteeth just threw it in there without any sort of explanation or… I don't know how to explain it. It just feels like… it was poorly executed.**

 **G3r1k: ARE YOU SURE YOUR FEELS ARE READY?! No, but seriously, thanks for sticking with me, even if I may play with your heart just for personal enjoyment.**

 **DePlexx: Aw, thank you! I tried to make that chapter special because it was the 6-month anniversary. Yeah, I might go a bit OOC with a few of these points, but I'll try and keep most their known personality in check. Which means no random jumps of character change. Character progression is gradual, which means… SUDDEN CHANGES no.**

 **And time for reviews.**

 **Boyy2k: Yeah, you definitely are one of the stranger reviewers on my story. Thanks for the feedback, and I'll try to update earlier in the months.**

 **Dan Song: Yeah, music really helps anyone get into the mood for anything. I'm trying to do some rough research on the things I'm coming up with. Spent about 3 days on chemo itself, a month on cancer, four days on dances, 2 days with fighting, a day on weapons (BTW: Flaming meteor hammers. Yes), and a little more time on misc. stuff.**

 **Drake187: Yeah, concentrated fluff is good in smaller doses when needed. I needed a way to balance with what happened three chapters ago.**

 **Jordanlink7856: Yo, when you reviewed on chapter 10, I'm sorry for when you reach chapter 13. "Biggest smile" will turn into… something entirely different.**

 **Alright, reviews are done. Sorry for any Cardin fans, but he has another destiny I have in mind for him. And you might hate him and/or me just a little bit more for what I'll do. And that's about it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and its fluff! And the cliffhanger… (*evil cackling)**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	18. Winter Special: Oh, You're Kidding

**Hey guys, Fireflame here! So, I'm going on break for a while. As in, maybe a half a month. So, in replacement for an entire chapter, I decided to give you guys a short, winter special. I'm gonna try to not use most of a specific holiday just for a little bit of a challenge for me.**

 **(Small note because someone reviewed and was confused) If anyone's confused why Daniel hates Adam, reread the Wilting Roses and Wilted Past chapter (4 or so chapters ago). I thought I made it clear that Adam shot Holly, but I digress.**

 **This was partially inspired by something from real life and partially from** _ **Dunces and Dances**_ **by EAP615. Pretty good one shot for all your Lancaster needs. Anyways, enjoy the special!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights go to their rightful owners. As in, mainly RT and moi.**

Winter Holiday Special: Oh, You're Kidding…

 **(I should mention, this is taking place maybe a few days after the Vytal Ball. So, right after Chapter 15.)**

Ruby groaned as she flopped back on her bed. "Why'd we let Weiss choose where we should go for Sunday Night-out," Ruby whined.

Weiss huffed slightly as she checked her hair in the mirror. "Because it was _my_ turn. You established the rules," she reminded, "We took turns suggesting where to go, and this week was my turn."

Ruby moaned again as she turned to her teammates for support. "Blake?" she asked hopefully.

Blake was calmly reading a book on her bed, flipping a page nonchalantly. "I have no objection," she put in.

"Yang?" Ruby turned to her sister.

Yang shrugged as she put on a cozy yellow sweater. "I mean," she started, "It fits the mood. 'Tis the season and all that, right?"

"You've been outvoted," Weiss said smugly, "Sorry, we're going." Her satisfied smile and grin conveyed clearly- she was absolutely not sorry.

Ruby moaned again, slamming her face into a pillow. "Ugh," said, "Of course the Ice Queen would suggest we go to one of those events."

Weiss shrugged as she put on a snug, white wool sweater over a matching shirt, her blue pants contrasting nicely with her outfit. "What's not to like?" she asked, "It's a popular event, with nice, classical music, and very elegant."

"And have you pegged me for any of those characteristics?" Ruby asked, turning to look questioningly at Weiss.

Weiss tilted her head in thought. "Not particularly," she admitted.

A knock was heard on their door, making Ruby get up, rolling her eyes. "My point exactly," she concluded. When she opened the door, Ruby's face immediately lighted up. "Daniel!" she exclaimed, giving her boyfriend a hug.

"Hey, Rubes," Daniel greeted with a laugh.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, "Oh god, the date's not today, is it?"

"Calm down," Daniel said, patting her head as Ruby started panicking, "The date's not for another week."

Ruby calmed down as she took a deep breath. "Why are you here, then?" she asked with a smile.

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry if this is such a short notice," he started, "but are you free in half an hour? I'm taking my mom to an event, since she's in town, and she really wants to meet my girlfriend."

Ruby was about to agree when Weiss showed up at the door, giving Ruby a mock-serious look. "Sorry, Daniel," she answered for Ruby, "We have a team activity today. No exceptions." She looked at Ruby pointedly.

Daniel shrugged, laughing silently at Ruby's annoyed expression. "Well, sorry to bother you," he apologized, "Well, I guess I'll take my leave. See ya, Ruby." He emphasized his point with a kiss on her lips. "Have fun with your team!"

As Daniel walked away, Ruby waved goodbye, putting on a strained smile. When he was out of sight, she shut the door, slumping against it with a sigh. "My one escape," she whined, throwing her hands up to the sky, "Gone."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Ruby," Weiss chided, "It's just a for three hours."

"Three hours of sitting in a freezing cold room, watching something I don't really care about," Ruby clarified with a grumble.

"Hey," Weiss exclaimed, "I've enjoyed these events my whole life! And if you put in the effort to try and experience it, you will, too."

"Not likely," Ruby said with a roll of her eyes.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

"Yep, I'm not enjoying it," Ruby affirmed.

Of course, Weiss would get into the festive spirit by going to a figure skating competition. The team was all dressed in very warm clothes, all corresponding to their colors. They mostly wore the same outfit- a cozy sweater covering a shirt, along with thick pants and maybe gloves or a scarf. However, Ruby also brought along her red, wool-lined cloak along with her, but it didn't keep her any warmer.

"Isn't it great," Weiss exclaimed with a small, uncharacteristic squeal as a skater took her bow, "Oh, I forgot how much I enjoyed these events!"

"Yeah," Ruby mumbled, sniffling and rubbing a sleeve against her nose, "Great."

Weiss turned to Ruby with a small scowl. "Oh, come on," she exasperated, "Did you miss the triple salchow?!"

"You act like I know what that means," Ruby shot back.

Weiss huffed as she turned to the next contestant. "Whatever," she told her partner, "They're in the finals for a reason oblivious to you."

Ruby looked at her partner questioningly. "These are the finals?" she asked.

Weiss threw up her hands in exasperation. "I give up," she conceded, "You're a lost cause."

"I could've told you that before we came here," Ruby argued.

"Come on, sis," Yang tried, "You've got to admit- some of these people are pretty talented, and I haven't got a clue on what's going on."

"Yeah, I guess," Ruby reluctantly admitted.

Weiss let out a small sigh, rolling her eyes as she directed her attention towards the next skater. "That's about as much as I'm going to get from you," she said under her breath.

Ruby tried to concentrate on the contestant, but the cold and her hyper activeness made it too much to handle. Eventually, she resorted to bouncing her leg, looking around the stadium, taking in as many details to satisfy her needs. Weiss glared at her slightly before muttering something about a lost cause.

Ruby's scroll vibrated in her pocket, making her pick it up eagerly. When she turned it on, the first thing she noticed was the message from Daniel. " _You having fun with your team?_ " it read.

Ruby rolled her eyes as she sent back, " _If only. Weiss chose something so dull_."

" _And what is that?_ "

" _Figure skating finals. Go figure, for the Ice Queen herself_."

" _Was that a pun I just heard from you?_ "

Ruby groaned audibly. " _You really are just like Yang. No, no pun intended._ "

" _Hopefully your other cloak's keeping you warm_."

" _Yeah, not really._ " Ruby took a second to read the other message. " _Wait,_ " she wrote, " _How did you know I was wearing a different cloak?_ "

A few seconds passed. Then, " _Very last row in the back, basically right behind you. A bit to the left._ "

She followed the directions with dawning realization. Sure enough, there he was. Daniel was sitting there, waving discretely at Ruby with a smug expression on his face. To his right was a woman with blonde hair, a few centimeters shorter than him, following Daniel's gaze and eventually finding the redhead that was looking back at them. When she pieced it together, the woman cockily turned to Daniel, saying something Ruby couldn't overhear. Daniel looked like he was groaning, throwing his head back and putting a hand on his face.

Ruby turned to a captivated Weiss. "I'm going to the bathroom," she lied.

Weiss used her hand to shoo her away. "Alright, go then," she said, still transfixed with that the current skater was doing. A split second later, she pumped her fist in excitement. "Yes!" she cheered quietly.

Ruby rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips as she watched Weiss " _finally_ " showing some excitement. She turned away from her team and walked up the stairs, back to the back of the stadium where Daniel and his companion sat. "Hey, Daniel!" Ruby greeted with a hug. "Still smell like peaches," she said under her breath for only Daniel to hear.

"Didn't expect to see you here, Rubes, Miss 'Smell Like Roses'," Daniel said with a chuckle, hugging her as well.

"Well, it was Weiss's idea," Ruby admitted, "I didn't know you liked figure skating."

"I don't," Daniel denied, "Not that much, anyway. This one," he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, right at the woman, "on the other hand, is more in love with it than with me."

The mystery woman laughed as she playfully smacked Daniel's shoulder. "Why'd you have to introduce me like that?" she chided.

Ruby looked at the woman questioningly. "Who's your… friend, Daniel?" she asked with just a hint of suspicion.

Daniel laughed as he guided Ruby down to sit next to him. "I haven't made introductions yet, have I?" he said to himself. "Ruby," he introduced, "this is my mom. Mom, this is my girlfriend, Ruby."

Ruby paled slightly as Hazel Gotzon gave Ruby a scrutinizing look. After a few seconds, Hazel smiled. "Nice catch," she said to her son.

"Mom," Daniel groaned, putting his head in his hands as he blushed in embarrassment.

Daniel's mom laughed as she ruffled his hair. "I'm joking, I'm joking!" she said. Then, after a second of thought, as she turned back towards Ruby, Hazel added, "Not entirely."

Ruby laughed shyly as she blushed a deep red, reminiscent of her namesake. "It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Gotzon," she said with an outstretched hand.

"Please, dear, call me Hazel," she corrected, "Daniel's been talking all about you for the past three weeks. There's apparently only room for one female, and I've been kicked out." The last part was emphasized with a joking, pointed look at Daniel.

Ruby blushed as Daniel slumped farther into his seat, groaning again. "How did I know this was going to end in embarrassment?" he said to himself.

"For you or me?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Daniel answered.

"Daniel," Hazel chided, trying to choke back a laugh, "That wasn't a yes or no question."

"Too bad," he replied, "It's the answer I'm giving."

Ruby laughed as she leaned her head against Daniel's shoulder. Daniel peeked an eye out from behind his fingers, smiling at the girl on his side. Ruby smiled back but frowned suddenly when she shivered from the frigid air. "You cold?" Daniel asked, receiving a nod in confirmation. "Here, stand up," Daniel suggested. As soon as she did, though, Daniel pulled her back down… right onto his lap. Ruby blushed a darker red as Daniel wrapped his arms around her waist. She buried her face into Daniel's wool sweater, trying to hide her blush.

"Aww," Daniel's mother cooed, "This is so much more fun to watch than a skating competition.

Daniel sighed, coming back from his fantasy- one where his mom wasn't watching him. "Way to ruin the moment," he mumbled.

"Now I know where you got your habit from," Ruby teased, looking up and cheekily smiling at Daniel.

Hazel laughed as she leaned back in her seat. "It's like watching one of those romance movies come to life," she commented.

Daniel groaned as he hid his face in Ruby's hair. "Stop teaming up with my girlfriend," he whined, "Just one of you is hard enough. Both of you… I won't be winning anything."

Hazel laughed as she nudged Daniel's side with a feathery elbow. "That's the plan," she said, "Although I'm not sure how long until she's more than just your girlfriend."

Daniel could almost feel the redness of his face. "My mom's always been like this," he explained to a flustered Ruby, "Every girl I've interacted with, she's tried to set me up with."

"Not all of them!" Hazel argued.

"Pyrrha," Daniel listed, "Echo, Sapphire, Ruby."

"Alright," his mother admitted, "But this time I'm sure!"

Ruby pulled away slightly to peck Daniel on the lips. "I think it's sweet," she stated, "It's nice that your mom tries to do this, even if it might be embarrassing."

"Why thank you, Ruby," Hazel replied with a grin that stretched ear-to-ear.

"Don't encourage her," Daniel warned Ruby, "As far as I know, Mom's already planning the wedding."

"Aww, how did you know?" Hazel said with a laugh.

"Son's intuition," Daniel answered.

"And it's mother's intuition to know when a girl's perfect for her son," Hazel shot back, giving a pointed look at Ruby who blushed in response.

"This is going to be a long night," Daniel mused, staring into Ruby's eyes.

Ruby smiled, bumping foreheads with her boyfriend. "It could be worse," she pointed out, "At least my dad isn't here…" She tilted her head in thought. "I don't think we even told him we were dating," she remembered.

Daniel put on a seemingly indifferent look. "How quickly would I have to run to evade his wrath?" he asked.

"Very," Ruby answered, "You should prep yourself when we have to tell him."

Daniel groaned as Ruby laughed, wrapping her arms around Daniel's neck. "I'm so dead," Daniel remarked.

Hazel smirked slyly at the couple. "Aww, my boy's all grown up," she quipped. She giggled as the two lovestruck teens, "Don't worry, I'll make sure Daniel isn't slain by your dad's hand." Her expression turned serious, "Unless there's something you want to hide," she said in a stony tone.

Ruby and Daniel blushed a deep garnet. Ruby hid her face in her hands while Daniel rapidly waved his hands in front of him. "No, no, no," he denied, "Nothing you don't already know. Nothing like that. I haven't even taken her on a date, yet." ( **AN: Reminder- this is supposed to be before the last chapter or so. Right after the ball.** )

Hazel stopped and blinked at that last comment. "You're slow, Daniel," she eventually said.

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks, mom," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I'd actually rather watch the figure skating with Weiss than this," Ruby admitted, her face still buried into Daniel's chest.

Daniel's mother laughed as she pat Ruby on the back. "Fine, I'll stop teasing you guys," she relented, "Now, I want to get back to the competition. Livana Abhinetri is preforming."

Daniel looked at his mom and then back at Ruby with adoring eyes. "Gladly," he agreed.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

"Where is she?!" Weiss demanded to her teammates, looking around. The contest ended a few minutes ago, and Ruby still wasn't back from her "bathroom break".

"Maybe she went back," Blake suggested, "She didn't want to come here in the first place."

"Or she could've been kidnapped," Yang said, worry evident in her voice.

"Doesn't matter," Weiss said with a huff, "She still missed an amazing performance, and now we have to spend the rest of the night trying to find her. Brilliant."

"Excuse me," a woman's voice said behind them. When the three girls turned around, they found a blonde woman in a long brown coat lined with fur, looking slightly smug. "Are you looking for a girl- reddish-brown hair, pretty short, wears a red cape?"

"Yes!" Weiss exclaimed, pushing past Blake to stand in front of the woman, "Do you know where he is?"

"Slow down there, Weiss," Yang said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, looking at the blonde. "Who are you?" she asked with a fake smile.

"Oh, I forgot introductions," the woman said, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I'm Daniel's mother. And I take it you're Ruby's team?"

Yang blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah, that's us," she agreed, "Sorry if I sounded sorta suspicious. It's not like Ruby to do this." Yang took a second to think. "Wait, didn't Daniel say he was taking you somewhere? So, where's Daniel?"

Hazel let out a musical laugh. "Daniel took me to this event. He remembered how much I love these things." She chuckled as Weiss's eyes lit up at her statement, "Well…" She didn't have to say anymore, only flourish her hands to behind herself.

Yang, Blake, and Weiss peered around Daniel's mom and smirked at what they saw. Daniel and Ruby were curled up on a seat with Ruby's cloak draped over them like a blanket ( **AN: I've used this way too much- it's just too convenient.** ) Both were asleep with Daniel resting his chin on Ruby's shoulder. Their cheeks were pressed together lightly, mouths opened slightly into slits as they breathed together in sync. Yang giggled as she pressed a palm against her cheek. "Of course Ruby would find a way to stay with Daniel," she teased.

"Did you expect anything less?" Blake asked jokingly, resting the side of her head against her knuckles.

"Not really," Yang answered with a chuckle.

"Should we wake them up?" Weiss asked no one, still trying to keep in her giggles.

"I've already tried that," Hazel said, a grin worthy of the Cheshire Cat, "That's how they ended up like that."

"Hold on, I may have a solution," Yang stated. She walked over until she was hovering over them. Yang bent down, next to both Ruby and Daniel's ears and whispered, "You should probably stop kissing."

Ruby and Daniel violently jerked awake, with Ruby tumbling out of Daniel's lap and onto the floor while Daniel accidentally elbowed his armrest. The girls collapsed into hysterics, barely able to see through tears of joy. "That," Hazel managed to gasp, "was amazing." And she dissolved yet again into a fit of giggles.

Ruby glared at Yang from where she laid, getting up and dusting herself off. "Not cool," she chided, folding her arms under her chest.

Yang hobbled over, holding her sides, and threw an elbow onto Ruby's shoulder. "Oh, dear sis," she chuckled, "It so was."

Daniel chuckled despite his embarrassment, rubbing the drowsiness off his face. "I hate you too, Yang," he said.

"Oh, you might hate me a bit more." Yang dug out an object from her pocket and threw it at Daniel. Daniel caught it and looked at the small leaf-like plant in his hand in confusion. "Mistletoe," Yang explained with a devilish smirk.

Ruby's eyes shot open to the size of dinner plates as she glared at her sister. "Yang," she growled.

Daniel laughed. "Why Yang, I didn't know you were giving me permission to kiss your sister," he sassed. The others laughed Ruby blushed for the umpteenth time that evening. He made his way over to her, throwing the mistletoe high into the air. Daniel wrapped his arms around Ruby's waist, pulling her into a heated kiss. Ruby stayed still for the first few moments before melting into the kiss while the others looked with various reactions- Yang was completely flustered, Blake's eyes went to the sizes of dinner plates, Weiss was hiding her giggles behind a hand, and Hazel snapped a few photos. After a few seconds, they pulled away, staring into each other's eyes. "Happy holidays," Daniel said breathlessly.

Ruby rubbed her cheek against Daniel's neck affectionately. "Happy holidays," she repeated.

Yang looked up, mainly to try and stop watching her sister kissing a guy that… passionately. Without thinking, she caught the plant that was falling back down. After a moment of thought, she turned to Blake. "Happy holidays, Kitty Cat," she announced smugly, pulling her into a chaste kiss.

When Blake pulled away, she tried to glare at the fiery blonde but eventually gave up. Blake smiled. "Happy holidays," she said back, a small blush forming.

 **AN: And Happy holidays to you, viewers! Hey guys, Fireflame here. Not sure if I want to make Bumblebee a thing in my story, but here's some extra fluff before- nothing! Here's just some extra fluff. (*Chuckles nervously).**

 **Anyways, I'm going off on a vacation this December, and the next chapter's not done. So, hope this sorta satisfies you guys. I'll do 3 chapters next month (or I'll get back to somewhere with internet and upload the next chapter. That's still up in the air).**

 **And reviews time:**

 **Boyy2k: You remind me of Luna Lovegood for some reason, I don't know why... Ah well. There's beef? THERE'S JUST _BEEF?_ Did I not make it clear enough that Adam was the one that shot Holly Gotzon? Chapter 13 with the backstory, if you want to go back and check. But seriously, thanks for reviewing! **

**G3r1k: Yeah, you're safe... for now.**

 **Alternet RedSkys: Um... I'm complete garbage at essays. _But apparently you guys say this is good, so at least one of you is lying_ (Jokes!). Goodwitch wasn't supposed to be inspiring... more like supportive and strict against Cardin (Yeah, I hate the man. Sue me.) I'll try to keep the cliffhangers at a minimum. There's gonna be about 3 of them max. And Cardin? Yeah, I have a better/worse future for him. You might hate me- not for what others are doing to him or what he'll do to Ruby, but... other reasons. (Cackles)**

 **DePlexx: Well, the chapter 2 spaces before this was supposed to be the 6 month anniversary, so it was supposed to be the best out of all of them (I hope). Also, I'm sorry, but Adam's not going to get a lot of screen time. As in, there's last, next, and the final chapters, and that's about it. He's not going to be the arrogant arse, but more... understanding. And rational.**

 **Darklord3875: Aww, thanks! I didn't know my story was actually this good. I mean, there's stuff like White Rose of Vermillion (hope I spelled that right), the Redemption series, LeCrux's stories, and a lot of other stuff. Um... yeah, about Qrow and Taiyang. They don't know yet. Let's just say... Ruby and Yang sorta forgot? Because life happens?**

 **Also, I just want to say a few things. First, I forgot a few other things that inspired me to do this. I'm talking about the PJO fanfic community and its 4 Gods of writing (Especially Pluto's Daughter 11, who is apparently also a RWBY fan. Who knew?) Also, there's my HELA teacher, Ms. K. Shoutout to you if you are reading this... which is probably absolutely not.**

 **Yo, only 4 critical errors (and 67 advanced ones. Eh). I'M DOING BETTER! I should probably end it now... Anyways, signing out- Flames of Fire.**


	19. Chapter 17: Snap!

**HAPPY NEW YEARS, PEOPLE! (*Confetti and party streamers and those things that roll up and go TWEEETTTT) Get ready for angst.**

 **YO 100 FOLLOWERS IN LESS THAN A YEAR! (*Celebrating even harder)**

 _There's a point where it tips_

 _There's a point where it breaks_

 _There's a point where it bends_

 _And a point we just can't take_

 _Anymore._

\- (I probably don't need to put in the singer, since we all know these lyrics, but for any of those that don't know) Cassie Lee Williams, _Time to Say Goodbye_

 **Before you read this, please go back to Chapter 13 or so to read the Daniel flashback. Apparently, I didn't make it clear enough to why Daniel hates Adam. I thought I did, but I'm not sure...**

 **Small note: WARNING- Get ready for edge. This is the most edge-filled chapter in my story, or at least one of them.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything except Daniel. Everything else- basically RoosterTeeth's.**

Chapter 17: Snap

"Adam!" Blake exclaimed, slowly unsheathing her sword, "What are you doing here?"

Adam approached Team RWBY with his hands up, palms empty. "Look, I can explain-."

"Then do it," Yang interrupted, pounding her fists together, "or I'll make you."

( **AN: Here's the edge...** ) Adam was about to open his mouth, but… "YOU!" a male's voice growled dangerously, "You, son of a bitch!" The girls turned around to see Daniel storming into the scene. He threw his hands into the fountain briefly, pulling away with two daggers made of ice in his hands.

Adam chuckled without humor, "Are you sure you have the right person?" he asked. His hand moved up to take off his mask slightly, showing his eyes. Well, eye. His left eye was deep, crimson red while the other one had an ugly scar running from lid to lid, looking as if it hadn't been open in years. When he noticed Daniel's animalistic growl, he snorted. "Yep, it's you," Adam affirmed, replacing his mask.

Daniel came at Adam as a whirl of blades as Adam sidestepped every strike. Eventually, Daniel's team was able to get a hold of themselves and try to pull Daniel away, but his constant movement and rapid flailing made it impossible to get a hold of him before they were cut.

Adam spoke like he wasn't in the midst of a fight, "I came here for a warning." His explanation was interrupted by a fist flying at his face.

"Daniel!" Weiss exclaimed, "What are you doing?" She rushed to Daniel's side and pushed him backward, trying to put some distance between him and the former White Fang member. "He's supposed to give us information!"

"He's also not supposed to be Faunus filth, like all the White Fang members!" Daniel sneered back.

"How could you say that?" Blake hissed, "You're also a Faunus, just like he is!"

Daniel's cold stare penetrated through Blake's soul. "Do not compare that… that _scum_ to me! If the White Fang was smart, they wouldn't _kill_ to gain our kind respect, now wouldn't they?"

Yang helped Weiss drag Daniel back to their side. "Daniel," Yang interjected, "what's gotten into you?"

Daniel turned to Adam, who was still trying to nurse his broken nose. " _Him_ ," he spoke with malice.

Adam chuckled. "I deserve that," he admitted, "and I deserve a lot more."

Daniel shook off Weiss and Yang to make his way back to Adam. In a few short strides, he was hovering over Adam with his makeshift dagger digging shallowly in his head. Quickly, Adam took out his sword and placed it inches in front of Daniel's stomach. "You…" Daniel stuttered out, his voice cracking with rage, "You had no right!"

Adam met Daniel's eyes. "It was an accident," he defended, "Your sister was-."

"Don't give me that crap, scum!" Daniel shouted, "Tell me why you killed her!" He pressed his dagger ever so slightly deeper into Adam's neck, not yet drawing blood, "And tell me why I shouldn't kill you here."

Without warning, Blake's katana was placed on Daniel's sternum. "What are you doing, Blake?" he asked.

"Daniel, slow down!" Blake begged, "Who did he kill?"

Daniel looked her dead in the eye. "My sister."

As Blake's mouth flopped open in shock, Adam stood up, taking his sword away so it wouldn't impale Daniel in a moment's notice. "I did not," he denied, "Not if you listened to my story."

Capitalizing on her shock, Daniel shoved Blake's weapon away from him and slammed the butt of his weapon into Adam's face. "You shot my sister in front of me!" he burst out, "And don't give me that shit; my mom can't wake up without having nightmares every single day! Day after day, you ruined my life thanks to one. Stupid. Raid."

Weiss looked at Daniel in fear. "Is that what happened that night?"

Adam slowly got up on all fours, slowly moving his jaw and grimacing. "You really pack a punch, kid." he complimented.

Without looking, Daniel slowly nodded at Weiss's question. Her eyes lit up in fury, but Blake spoke first, "Adam, is this true?!"

Adam turned his head to Blake. "You should remember, too, Blake."

Daniel, who was looming over Adam with his dagger at the crouching figure's throat, turned to Blake with eyes void of emotion. "What does he mean, 'you should remember'?"

Blake's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, Dust…" she gasped. She put her head in her hands, pulling her hair back. "Oh, Dust, that's what you meant, Adam…"

Yang looked at Blake, worried. "Blake?" she asked, "What does Adam mean?"

Not meeting anyone's eyes, Blake knelt on the ground, staring at it. "I was there." she confessed, "I was there with Adam."

Before any of the others could react, Daniel's fist found the side of Blake's skull. Letting out a cry of pain, Blake was forced back a foot away, falling to her side. "I'm sorry," she cried, curling up into a ball.

Now, Daniel's attention was all on Blake. "Care to elaborate?" he snarled, kneeling beside her. His arm was pressed against Blake's throat, slowly pushing down with more and more force as she continued to struggle.

Yang shoved Daniel away from the crying Blake, pushing him to the ground. "Daniel!" she exclaimed, "What's the matter with you! Why are you doing this to Blake?"

A dark aura was being emitted by Daniel as he let out a hysterical cackle while he got to his feet. "What's wrong with me?" he repeated, "Nothing's wrong with me!" He gestured to Adam and Blake. "These two," he giggled, "these two are the ones that destroyed my life! And now, I'm just returning the favor!"

Yang didn't give an inch to Daniel. "How'd she," she motioned to Blake, "manage to destroy your life? She did nothing wrong?"

Daniel waggled a finger at Yang, tutting in disappointment. "You know both of our stories and whatever _he_ ," he jerked his head towards Adam who was now getting to his feet, slightly captivated by Daniel's brutality, "told you, right? So, you should be able to piece it together." When Yang's face drained of blood, Daniel smiled cruelly, "Exactly. She was the one who let him get away. Now get out of the way!"

Yang stepped back in shock and fear. "Daniel, no," she coaxed, "this isn't you. This isn't the Daniel I know. The Daniel Ruby knows. The Daniel we know."

Daniel looked at Yang in disbelief. "The Daniel you know?" he repeated, "That one was just a mask, a façade! _This_ ," he gestured to himself, "is the 'real' me, the one who's family and friends died for no good reason. All because of the White Fang!" Daniel started towards Yang. "Now hand over Blake," he demanded.

Before he could reach her, Daniel found himself unable to move forward. He looked around to find Weiss making a black glyph underneath him. "Let me go, Weiss." he said in a sickly-sweet tone.

Beads of sweat dripped from Weiss's forehead as she concentrated on the only thing keeping Blake away from death. "No. I'm not letting you hurt Blake. Yes, it is a tragedy what happened, but she hasn't even explained what happened, and you're ready to take her life away?" Weiss redoubled her efforts, "No, I will not allow it."

Daniel pouted and shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. Without warning, Daniel threw his knife, sailing through the air, straight into Weiss's exposed leg. With a scream, Weiss collapsed, holding her bleeding leg. The blade sank a few inches into her calf, barely missing bone. "You forgot to lock the rest of my body," commented Daniel.

Yang gave a hard right cross to Daniel's cheek. "You… you monster!" she hissed, looking at him with disgust and horror, "How could you do that to our friends?! Weiss was only trying to protect Blake, and she gets a knife to the leg? How's that fair!?"

Daniel was barely fazed by her punch. Testing his jaw, he unconsciously rubbed where she hit. Slowly rotating his head, Daniel looked at Yang with fire in his eyes, a large, sinister grin still on his face. "Life isn't fair." Daniel said cheerfully, "I learned that when my family was shot in front of my eyes. When my friends had to die for no reason. And as for why, Weiss was in my way. So," he formed a new dagger from the concrete he stood on, "will you, too?"

"Daniel, stop right there!" Adam shouted behind them. Daniel rotated his head slowly and saw Adam standing a yard away, his sword sheathed at his side, hands spread out in a peaceful manner. "Blake was there, yes, but she did not kill anyone. I was the only one that killed your parents."

"Why, how kind of you to finally admit your sins!" Daniel exclaimed. He walked over to Adam calmly, his eyes stormy with rage. His hand shot out and wrapped around Adam's throat. As Adam clawed the arm strangling him, Daniel spoke with a darker tone, "Now, I'll ask again. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you here and now." His hand coated in a pitch-black aura.

"Daniel, stop!" Yang tried again, "This is insane!" She rushed forward to knock some sense into Daniel.

Daniel made no acknowledgment that she existed. Once she was an inch away, Daniel's darker aura flared. In an instant, Yang found herself incapacitated in the floor. Once again, Daniel made the ground around her turn into quicksand. She sank all the way up to her chest, her arms held barely above the sand's level. He did this all without moving a muscle. "Pardon the interruption," Daniel apologized like he was just in a friendly conversation, "Now, can you answer why?"

Beads of sweat poured down from Adam's face, but he remained as calm as he could. "It was not intentional," he answered.

Daniel smiled brightly, a crazed look in his eyes. "Now that's a change of pace." he commented as he squeezed Adam's life away, "You took away my future, my sister, my mom's sanity-."

"Wait," Adam interrupted, "you don't know?"

The grip on Adam's neck tightened slightly. "Know what?" Daniel questioned dangerously.

"Your sister," Adam managed out, "It was a set up."

"What do you mean?" Daniel growled, loosening his grip just a bit.

"She survived. Your sister is alive."

In an instant, Daniel's grip on Adam's throat intensified. The maniacal gleam was replaced with pure fury and hatred. "You shot my sister right in front of me! Of course she's dead!"

"Blake," Adam gasped, "Explain it."

Blake was now on her knees, but she her spirit was too broken. She couldn't move a muscle in her body, only stare at the ground in defeat. "Blake," Daniel growled dangerously.

"You told me that three survived." she replied emotionlessly.

He seemed to ponder this for a few moments, but once he understood, Daniel looked back at Blake in shock. Then, he turned to Adam with the same fire in his eyes. "We're not done here," he announced. Daniel let go of Adam's throat for him to flop on the ground on all fours, one hand massaging his neck while gasping for breath. Daniel didn't have a second thought as he created a small dagger from the sidewalk around them with his black aura, and he impaled Adam's hand through the ground. Adam let out a strangled scream as Daniel did the same with his other hand. "Now, don't go anywhere!" Daniel suggested happily.

Daniel strut over to where Blake was slumped over. "Ah, the woman of the hour." he addressed. Daniel knelt in front of Blake, his insane smile dancing on his lips. "Care to tell me how you found this information, and when?"

For a few seconds, Blake didn't acknowledge his existence. Daniel sighed, creating another small knife in his left right hand. He tossed it up and down, inches in front of Blake's face. "You don't have to share Adam's fate." he advised softly, "Just tell me when you got the information."

A few seconds past of unnerving silence. Then, "Two days after the cleanup of the Breach," Blake answered, "When I got that call from Adam during lunch."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Daniel slapped Blake with all his might. "And you didn't bother to tell me this, why?" he asked, his voice void of emotion.

"You, asshole!" Yang screamed. She thrashed around in her earthly prison. "You lay another finger on Blake, I swear I'll kill you!"

Daniel turned his head to meet Yang's murderous glare with his psychotic stare. "Your wish is my command." he said in a sickly-sweet tone. He looked back at his subject at hand. "Now tell me, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Ozpin warned us not to." Blake replied evenly.

"How about Ruby?" Daniel asked. He leaned in closer so his breath tickled Blake's skin. "Why wouldn't she tell me?" he breathed.

"We never told her." Blake panicked, "Ozpin thought she wouldn't keep it a secret."

Daniel nodded slightly. "Well, good for you!" he congratulated, "You made me hate you a little more! Keeping secrets hidden from your teammate, sister in Yang's case. That's shallow, even for you!"

"You shut your mouth!" Yang yelled, "I told you I-!"

"Yes, yes," Daniel waved off, "you told me you'd kill me if I laid a finger on Blake." He stared into Blake's eyes. "I won't."

He slowly began to raise his makeshift dagger to Blake. Snapping out of her daze, she recoiled back, but the ground around her rose up and created shackles to restrain her. "Oh, come on, Blake!" Daniel grinned dangerously, "We're about to have some fun!"

Daniel placed the dagger millimeters away from Blake's forehead. "Relax, Yang," he chuckled as he noticed the murderous glare from behind, "I said I wouldn't lay a finger on her, and I'm keeping my word." Daniel set the dagger down on her forehead, not yet splitting skin, "I never said I wouldn't harm her, though."

Daniel pushed down slightly, drawing blood on the side of Blake's face. She let out a shrill scream, jerking away from the weapon. Daniel pouted, "Come on, I'm trying to help you. You'll be turning heads left and right when I'm done."

"DANIEL!" Yang screeched, clawing her way out of her trap.

"Daniel, stop it this instance!" Adam yelled, "Blake has done nothing to you. Your anger should be directed to me."

"Is that so?" Daniel asked without turning around.

Adam nodded, swallowing his fear. Before he could say any more, Daniel yanked out the knife impaling his hand, blood squirting out from the wound. Adam let out a yell of pain, clutching his hand close to his chest. "Now, what was that about my sister?"

Adam took a few deep breaths. "Your sister's alive," he insisted, "Three out of four members in your family survived. But, you might lose another one."

Daniel's hand crept to a pocket in his belt. "What do you mean by that?" he snapped.

"Your mother," Adam gasped out, starting to see spots, "Do you know where she is right now?" When Daniel shook his head, Adam went on, "Give her a call now."

Still glaring at the man on the ground, Daniel pulled out his scroll, dialing his mom and holding it to his ear. It rung twice before picking up. "Hello, mom?" Daniel asked, not taking his eyes off Adam.

"I was wondering when Adam would tell you about me," a woman's voice that wasn't Hazel Gotzon's was heard on the other end.

Daniel's eyes widened in shock. "Who are you and where's my mom?" Daniel demanded.

"All in due time, Daniel. All in due time…"

"Cut the shit," Daniel snapped, "What have you done to my mom?!"

A sigh was heard from the other end. "You teenagers are so impatient," the voice remarked, "Very well, if you want to know that badly."

A moment of silence. Then, a new voice was heard from the Scroll. "Daniel?"

"Mom!" Daniel shouted in relief, "Don't worry, I'll get you out safely."

"No!" Hazel urged, "I forbid you to try and rescue me. You'll just be handing yourself to them."

Anything else she wanted to say was stopped as a smack was heard, followed by a sharp yelp of pain. "Silly girl," the first woman's voice was heard, "So, what is it going to be?"

"You…" Daniel took in deep breaths, "I swear, if you lay a hand on her one more time, you're dead."

"Hmm," the voice hummed offhandedly, "Then come on over to make sure it doesn't happen again. 10600 Willow Street."

Daniel was about to shout back when he heard a click. He pulled the scroll away from his ear. "Call Ended". He was about to throw his scroll angrily against the ground before thinking otherwise. Instead, he balled up his other fist so tightly his fingernails bit into his palm, his knuckles turned white. Daniel turned around when he heard stone rustling against stone. Adam was crouched next to Blake, cutting through the chains with his sword. Daniel mentally debated on what to do next. Get his revenge or save his mother? In the end, he chose to ignore the two faunus leaning on each other for support and started to head down to Vale. "W-where are you going?" Blake stuttered, not wanting to anger Daniel.

Without losing stride, Daniel snapped back, "None of your business." His wings snapped to the sides, catching wind as he took off for the city.

Yang finally broke free from the concrete, using her gauntlets to bust a few craters into the ground around her. She rushed over to Blake who was breathing shakily, her eyes wild and frightened. Yang slammed her fists against the stone chains, breaking them instantly. Yang slung one of her partner's arms over her shoulders, standing with a shaking Blake. "Don't take anything Daniel said to heart," she murmured, "He forgot who you are and only remembers what you did, not what you do now."

"Screw that," Weiss said through clenched teeth, breathing heavily as sweat beaded down from her face.

"Weiss!" Yang exclaimed, hobbling over with Blake in tow. At this point, Adam was trying to pull the other dagger out of his hand, but an already injured second hand and being strangled half to death in the past few minutes didn't help his task at all.

"Weiss," Yang repeated softly, kneeling down next to her teammate to check on her injury.

"Fuck this hurts," Weiss hissed, grimacing as Yang gently moved her into a more comfortable position. "How can you not hate Adam right now?" Weiss questioned Yang accusingly, "Did you not _see_ what he just did to us?"

Yang sighed as she glanced at her partner, Adam, and then back to Weiss. "I never said don't hate him," she clarified, "Just don't hold it against him. Daniel's doing this because he found his family's killers."

Weiss scoffed, "Yeah, that'll happen. Nothing will justify his actions."

Yang was about to say something before the sound of heels clicking against pavement interrupted her. "What is going on here?!" Professor Goodwitch demanded, looking over the scene. When she saw Weiss's condition, Goodwitch's eyes narrowed as she quickly made her way over. "Miss Xiao Long," she said after a few moments, "I expect some answers."

"Later," Yang brushed off, her attention still on her injured teammate, "Right now, call the medics, please."

Goodwitch sighed as she pulled out her scroll, calling for immediate help. Once that was said and done, she put her scroll away. "Now, I would appreciate some answers," Goodwitch ordered, "Starting with the reason why I see a White Fang leader at our school, injured."

Yang sighed as she looked at her friends for support. "It's going to take a while," Yang drawled.

"We have time," Goodwitch assured, "Now talk."

"Well," Yang started, "We sent Ruby ahead of us to the dorm while the three of us were talking to Daniel. Then, Adam, Blake's partner shows up from literally out of nowhere." She paused as she thought of how to phrase her next lines. "Daniel… snapped. Apparently, Adam was the one who killed some members of his family." Glynda's eyes widened at that fact, "He started attacking while Adam tried to explain his reason for coming. Apparently, he had something to tell us, but Daniel never gave him the chance. Blake, Weiss and I tried to stop him while trying to subdue Adam which was unsuccessful.

"Daniel got me out of the fight with the same concrete trap while Blake and Weiss were taken out by Adam." Weiss was opening her mouth to object, but she saw Blake's pleading look and thought twice.

If Glynda noticed any of their interaction, she gave no sign as she motioned for Yang to continue. "Daniel eventually was able to get the upper hand against Adam and did that," she motioned to the struggling former White Fang member, "But, Adam told Daniel something that made him leave."

"Without helping you all?" Glynda clarified with a raised eyebrow.

"He went to rescue his mom," Yang explained.

The professor sighed as medics rushed to Weiss's side. "Why is it always you three?" she asked, tiredly rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Believe me, Professor," Weiss started as she was carried onto a stretcher, "If I could stop it, I would." Goodwitch turned around to interrogate Adam as Weiss dragged Yang to her side. "Why did you lie about Daniel?" she demanded.

Yang sighed as she held Weiss's hand. "A few reasons. He's not in his right mind- you of all people know that rage can make anyone do the unthinkable. Also," she gazed in the direction of their dorm, "I can't do that to Ruby or our futures."

Weiss nodded in understanding. "If Daniel's expelled for what he did, there's no hope for RWBY to come together again," she assumed.

"Yeah," Yang agreed, taking a glance at Blake who was trying to insist her cut was "just a scratch" to a medic, "I can't do that, for any of us."

Weiss huffed as the medics dressed her wound, wincing every time a hand went near the gap in her calf. "This doesn't mean I will ever tolerate Daniel!" she stated.

"Didn't think you ever would," Yang said, "I want to murder him myself, but I also want answers." Weiss seemed satisfied with the answer as she laid back, closing her eyes as she tried to bear the pain.

Meanwhile, Goodwitch was exchanging a few words with Adam. After they talked for a bit, Glynda beckoned for one of the medics. "Get this man to a hospital," she insisted, gesturing to Adam's injured hands, "But do not let him leave his room. I'm sure some people, especially General Ironwood, would like to have a few words with him." With a gulp from her implications, the medic quickly ushered his new patient over to an airship.

Before she herself was carried away, Weiss pulled Yang down by the collar until she was eye-level with her. "Make Daniel pay," she demanded.

"Yeah," Yang said offhandedly, "I'll do that."

Weiss narrowed her eyes at Yang's reluctance but couldn't question it since she was already halfway to the airship. From the entrance of Beacon, Ozpin was calmly walking towards them, his cane in tow, while Coco and Velvet ran forward. Velvet knelt down next to Blake, gingerly brushing away some grime away from her cuts and bruises. Coco surveyed the damage with a horrified expression. "What happened?" she gasped.

"This would be the work of Daniel and Adam Taurus," Goodwitch answered.

Coco looked at the professor, her eyes furrowing together. "Daniel would never do this!" she argued.

"Unfortunately," Goodwitch replied, pushing her glasses back in place, "Miss Xiao Long's testimony and the injuries the three girls sustained were enough to say he did."

"Three?" Coco asked, looking over to Yang and Blake.

Yang sighed as she hung her head. "Weiss now has a dagger in her leg, courtesy of Daniel."

"You're lying," Coco denied, "Daniel wouldn't do that to his friends, it's just not him!"

"But it wasn't him," Blake put in, getting to her feet. She gently nursed her cheek. "He was angered by Adam."

"The White Fang member," Goodwitch clarified for Ozpin, shooting him a pointed look while discretely tilting her head in Blake's direction.

"Ah," Ozpin said, thinking about the events. "I presume this was the same member that went after Daniel's family?" he assumed. When Yang and Blake nodded, much to Velvet and Coco's surprise, Ozpin sighed. "We cannot allow Daniel to follow this lead if you can call it that. Miss Scarletina. Miss Adel." The girls in question stood attentively, "Track Daniel down and bring him back."

Coco nodded. "Will do, sir," she promised. She pulled roughly on Velvet's shoulder. "Come on, we gotta find him." As the two of them rushed to the nearest airship back to Vale, they waved over their shoulders. "Get well, guys!" Coco shouted to Yang and Blake.

Ozpin looked off into the distance, lost in thought. "Let's pray that Daniel doesn't do anything else irrational," he muttered to himself.

 **AN: And that's the end of the chapter! Hey guys, Fireflame here. So, I've been on break. In the middle of the ocean. For about a week and a half. It might sound fun, but I got sick halfway through and couldn't do jack for the rest of the time. I'm still sick as I'm typing this last part, so… yeah.**

 **Anyways, the story- yeah, this was a** _ **lot**_ **of freaking edge and angst, but I think the story needed some. I know this wasn't my best chapter. To be honest, I sorta rushed this out. The first 7/8ths of this are sorta thought out, but the last part was sort of... an add on. Sorry if you think I made Adam a bit OOC, but this is how my story's gonna flow. (Side note: you should be able to guess who's holding Hazel hostage). Also, I'm sorry for treating the characters like that.**

 **…**

 **…Yeah, not as much as you think. I mean, yeah, I put a dagger in Weiss's leg, but Yang was fine (Ignore what happened to Blake and Adam if it makes you feel better)!**

 **And the reviews:**

 **Boyy2k: Yeah, I just wanted to slip in some Bumblebee. Just so I could see if it was for me (not really). Actually, you act a lot like me. (*loses train of thought) Yep. A lot like me...**

 **Alternet RedSkys: Everything now crashes. (*Slams plates onto the ground) EVERYTHING. Sorry, I got out of hand. Cardin's not being burned alive. At least, you'll hope for that when I get back to that issue. Is Ruby dying at some point? Well, that's a given. I mean, come on. Did you expect nothing less? Yeah, Qrow's not going to flip as hard as Taiyang, but it's a close second.**

 **OH! Special announcement time:**

 **I GOT ANOTHER STORY UP!**

 **It's called Polar Opposites if any of you want to check it out. Basically, I was talking to a bunch of people on Quizup, and this amazing person called River Mountain randomly did a photoshop and switched a character's color pallet. Yadda yadda yadda, long story short- we created a new OC that I put in my story. The character's gonna be extremely introverted, so prepare for a lot of self-dialogue. If you don't know who it's based off, for shame (Jokes). First chapter's up, and the second's coming soon. Check it out. I command you.**

 **And that's all, folks! Follow if you want more, Favorite if you enjoyed it, and leave a PM or review if you have literally* anything to say to me (*Does not mean literally).**


	20. Chapter 18: No It Can't Be

**AN: Heyo, it's fireflame. So um... slight announcement.**

 **WE GOT 22K VIEWS. And we passed 60 reviews! So now, on all charts for OC stories, we are now at most on page 8. HALLELUJAH.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything of RT's stuff. I barely own my stuff as it is.**

 **Disclaimer 2: Um... guys, I'm sorry, but prepare for a lot more feelings to be hurt. Especially yours.**

 **WARNING: Edge alert. DO NOT SKIP THIS CHAPTER PLEASE. IT IS IMPORTANT.**

Chapter 18: No... It Can't Be

Daniel touched down at the corner of an empty street, looking around at his surroundings. On the street's corner, there was a pole with the labels 'Willow Street' and 'Harley Street', so he was sure he was in the right place. Walking down the dark sidewalk, Daniel noticed the buildings were extremely rundown, even after the rebuilding of the Breach- half the buildings had broken or even were missing windows, and cobwebs were scattered in every crook and nanny like it was untouched for years.

Daniel morphed his cloak into a thin spear almost as long as he was tall. He hefted it in his hands, discretely covering his right hand in flint and steel. Daniel's eyes darted around in the dark street, only illuminated by an occasional streetlamp every now and then. He jumped whenever he passed an alley and eyed every building he passed by. Then, when he was almost at the end of the street, he saw it.

10600 Willow Street. By far the most beat up building on the street. With its brick and mortar design looking as if it would crumble at the slightest touch, Daniel assumed it couldn't have been repaired for a good decade or few. Right before he was walking through the door, a small buzz sounded, startling him and making Daniel jump a good foot in the air before realizing it was his Scroll. Breathing heavily, Daniel reached into his pocket to find a message from Coco. And then another right after from Velvet.

' _Where the fuck are you?_ '

' _Daniel, we know what you're doing. We talked to Yang._ '

Daniel scoffed at both messages before muting and ignoring both of them. Looking back up, he pushed open the heavy oak door with a creak. Peering around the inside and determining his first step in was safe, Daniel walked in, spear at the ready. His right hand was in his pocket, fingers around a specific Dust crystal, ready at moment's notice.

Daniel kept walking through the factory-like setting, all the equipment missing so only a few tables and thick pillars could block his view. The pitch black wasn't that much of a hindrance thanks to his night vision, but even still, Daniel was straining all his senses for anything. In the very back corner, Daniel saw a chair with a woman in complete black on it, her face hidden by a sack and hands tied and feet tied to the poles. "Mom!" he exclaimed, racing over.

While Daniel rushed over to the woman's side, he heard a soft pattering that definitely wasn't his footsteps. Daniel threw the pale-white Dust crystal over his shoulder, already snapped in half. As soon as he did that, he shut his eyes tight, covering his ears as well as he could with a spear in hand. A few moments later, a flash of light blinded him even behind his eyelids. Uncovering his ears, he heard a boy's voice behind him scream, "Ow, what the fuck was that?!"

"What?!" a girl questioned loudly, also trying to get her bearings after the attempted ambush.

Daniel was by the captured woman's side in an instant, kneeling down and dropping his weapon to untie the bonds. "Mom, are you okay?" he asked, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one else was sneaking up. When he made sure the two assailants were still disoriented, he turned to look back to the sack nodding in confirmation, assuming that she was gagged. "When I'm done with these, I want you to run," he continued, "Can you do that?"

The hooded figure shook her head. Daniel frowned slightly, but before he could make anything out of it, he heard the other girl's voice call out, "Shit, he's by the mom!"

Daniel cursed under his breath as he fished out another flash Dust. He jumped back behind a pillar as a shot rang out, aiming at where his head was just moments ago. "Damn it, don't shoot at the girl!" the boy shouted at the girl, "We still need her alive!"

As soon as the footsteps started up again Daniel threw the crystal over his shoulder, another loud bang and spark of light lighting up the darkness. After half a second, he peeked his head out and immediately ducked back when another bullet flew by his face. "Not gonna work again, kid!" the boy shouted.

Daniel just then realized that he left his spear by the chair, out of reach and out of cover. He scoffed his own sloppiness before reaching in his pockets again to fish out flint and steel. Daniel bent down, slamming his hands on the ground and pulling the tiles out with his hands to make a sort of makeshift-wall for cover for himself and his mom, barely a few meters tall. Loud footsteps told him that the two would quickly be upon him, so he made the best of it, snapping his fingers together and making the other half of the warehouse set aflame. The flames died quickly except the ones burning on the couple of wooden desks, illuminating the place in an eerie light.

"Merc, bust through, now!" the girl screamed, panic seeping into her voice.

The boy obliged, shattering a hole in the newly-made wall with ease, not a weapon in sight with his leg straight out in front of him. Now, in the light of the flames, his all-black outfit was seen, along with the Grimm mask on his face and the spiky light-gray hair. Looking around, he didn't see Daniel at first glance. As he was turning his head to yell over his shoulder, he caught sight of a fist coming at his face. Ducking at the last moment, the punch barely whiffed, but the follow-up knee to his stomach didn't, making the boy hunch over, holding his stomach. Using his stunned state, Daniel slammed the boy's arms against the wall, pulling material out of it and forming shackles around the boy's wrists and ankles using his Semblance. Then, for good measure, Daniel slammed his elbow into the boy's windpipe, making his aura go into overtime to try and mend it as he started gagging for air.

"Merc?" the girl shouted over the flames, now able to be seen in the same clothes as the boy but with light green hair, still advancing slowly with two pistols out in front of her. When she stepped around the wall, the first thing she saw was the boy mounted on a wall by his shackles, still gasping for breath. "Merc!" she shouted again, putting away one of her pistols to pull out a small, black sickle with a silver blade about as long as her forearm. She was at Merc's side in an instant, using the blade to try and saw the stone chain. "

As she kept hacking away at the stone, the boy managed out, with his mangled throat, "Behind you!" On instinct, the girl dived to the side, a red spear cutting through the air her head was a second ago.

Scrambling onto her feet, the girl turned around to see a murderous Daniel glaring at her. With the malice rolling off him with his dark wings behind him, he looked like an angel of death, ready to claim another soul. "Thanks for shutting him up," the girl joked, nodding to the boy on the wall, "This is the first time I've heard him go silent for more than a minute." She replaced her pistol with another sickle, crouching into a battle stance with one sickle in a reverse-grip.

Daniel snorted as he hefted his spear. "I always hated scythes," he stated, "Never got the hang of it."

"Sickle," the girl corrected.

"Same difference." With that, the girl rushed him, trying to look into Daniel's eyes to use her Semblance. With a small scoff of disbelief, she realized the shadows just barely hid Daniel's face, so she couldn't make eye contact.

" _Looks like it's going to be the hard way, then,_ " she thought. As she ran, Daniel stabbed forward, just left of her right shoulder. The girl just shifted herself left, avoiding the attack. He then swung the back end of his spear up, intending to trip the green-haired girl.

Already predicting this, the girl kept going left, jumping off and kicking off the wall to hop over any attacks Daniel could follow through with his spear. She spun around, trying to nick Daniel's wing and shoulder with a strike. She was already planning her next attack as she noticed Daniel's smirk when the light flickered onto his face momentarily.

The girl realized with a horrifying thought that she just put herself into a position that she couldn't get herself out of. Her momentum carried her down to Daniel who was still swinging his spear, only now a soft blue glow started shining from his hands. As the girl kept swinging her right arm, the sickle on the outside of her arm, she realized with a sickening feeling what Daniel was about to do, and she couldn't do anything to prevent it.

As the girl drew closer, Daniel's spear morphed into gauntlets covering his entire forearms and hands, his arm already up to protect his right side. When the girl came down with her sickle, Daniel caught the blade with his armored hand, quickly dragging her down, slamming her into the ground. With the wind knocked out of the girl, Daniel, pinned her arm behind her back, his foot crushing her other hand while Daniel's other hand created bonds from the floor around her wrists and neck. He then let go of her other arm to restrain it against the floor as well.

Daniel scoffed as he got to his feet, looking at the girl struggling on the ground. "I thought you guys would've been more careful," he taunted, "Worst kidnapping attempt I've ever seen." Daniel then turned to the woman still on the chair. "Mom, are you okay?"

He received no response even as he walked closer to her. "Mom?" repeated.

Daniel could hear a low buzzing sound, but he brushed it off since he heard the woman reply in his mother's voice, "Daniel?"

Daniel sighed in relief, a smile coming back to his face. He untied the other three ropes on her wrists and knelt by her side. "We should go," he suggested, watching the woman rub her wrists. He took off the sack covering her head and hesitated. "What the?" he started, looking at the pink and brown eyes staring back at him mischievously. Nothing he saw was anything his mother had- not the eyes, not the pink streak in her hair, or even the devilish smirk.

Without another word, the girl pretending to be Daniel's mom leaped out of the chair, twisting and kicking Daniel in the chest with the force of a car. Daniel was blasted back straight into a pillar, making the entire warehouse shake slightly. From his dazed state, Daniel could hear the girl with the Grimm mask laugh. "How's that for a kidnapping attempt?" she mocked.

Daniel groaned as he staggered to his feet, trying to locate the new person. Now, he was conflicted on what to do next. While his heart screamed, " _Find your mom_ ," his mind was screaming, " _Idiot, it's a trap! You should've listened to her!_ " In a heartbeat, Daniel bolted for the exit, looking behind him at the heterochromatic girl that was freeing the two kidnappers from their bonds.

"Stop worrying about me," the girl on the floor demanded, "Get Daniel!"

Daniel took that as a sign to leave, the exit of the building just a few strides ahead of him. As he reached for the handle, though, a large gust of wind blew him back from the doorway, along with the door itself which flew off its hinges while also blowing out the windows and the fires made from the desks. He skidded along the floor, ending in the middle of the room on his back. As he struggled to catch his breath, a knee was pressed against his neck as hands found his wrists, pressing them into the ground. Daniel panicked, flipping his hand so his palm faced the floor and made a jagged spike rise from the ground.

The pressure restraining him was quickly lifted as the person dodged the spike with mere milliseconds to spare. Daniel pushed himself onto his knees, pulling out another Dust crystal. As he heard the feet of the newcomer draw closer rapidly, he threw the Dust at the ground at his feet, smoke rising quickly from where it shattered. Daniel dived to the side, getting up and running in the general direction of the door.

As soon as Daniel's chances were looking decent, though, they were dashed when a small green glow started up through the smoke. As the light started burning brighter, Daniel was blown off his feet again, a large burst of air pushing him onto the ground. Daniel shakingly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, looking at the open door in front of him, almost beckoning him towards the open world. While getting up, though, the assailant came from behind, jumping forward and pulling a small, sharp knife-like object, the blade no larger than a sheet of paper but had stacks of blades tied together.

The assailant dropped down as Daniel tried to roll away again, but this time the person didn't miss. Slamming the blade down, it impaled the ground, going a few inches into the concrete. Along with Daniel's left wing. Daniel let out a shrill scream of pain, attempting to kick away the person as he or she flipped away, prepping another blade. Breathing heavily, Daniel tried to pull out the blade from his wing, but it was too firmly planted, and his exhaustion from everything that already happened finally caught up to him, the adrenaline wearing off.

Daniel looked back at the assailant with wary eyes, helpless. He finally got a good look at the girl that attacked him. The long, flowing blonde hair down her back, a red streak on the right, was a giveaway for her gender. She was tall- just a hair taller than he was, Daniel imagined. On her face, there was a vaguely human, black, red, and white mask, its mouth stretched into a psychotic grin with fangs poking out. It looked almost as if a Grimm tried to turn human and was stuck halfway through the transformation. A dark green, almost black, hooded poncho covered her torso along with a midnight black shirt underneath. Black pants covered her legs, loose enough so it wouldn't be a hindrance.

The girl ducked down into a ready position, pulling out another blade from inside her poncho. With a flick of her wrist, the blades unfolded, bound together by some cloth like a fan ( **AN: And here are my third favorite weapons to ever imagine- the war fans** ). Before she lunged again, a woman's voice sounded from the entrance, "I thought I told you I wanted him knocked out, not handicapped."

Daniel turned to the doorway, fighting unconsciousness, and looked at the source of the disturbingly familiar voice. It was her- the one at the Breach. In all her glory with a Grimm mask and her red and gold dress. She stood at the entrance, arms crossed under her chest in a pose that made it feel like she was superior to anyone else. The girl in blonde and humanoid mask knelt down, her head facing the ground in a sign of respect. "Apologies, Madam," she replied, "I didn't think he would be this resilient."

Even though none of them could see, the figure in red smiled behind her mask, waving off the girl's apology. "None of that," she stated. The woman in red turned to the two assailants that first attacked Daniel. "I thought my training would've been enough," she scoffed, "It appears that the two of you aren't as well trained as I thought."

The two bowed their heads while the only figure without a mask, the girl with the pink streak in her hair and dual-colored eyes, just continued to smile smugly. "We got ahead of ourselves," the boy in the mask said in a timid voice.

The woman in red snorted again before looking down at Daniel. She knelt in front of him, just out of arm's reach, her Grimm mask seemingly smiling ferally at him. "I believe you thought this was kidnapping?" she inquired smugly, "Well, what do you think?"

Daniel didn't answer, barely hearing her last words before succumbing to the darkness.

 **-xX-Line Break-Xx-**

When Daniel woke up again, a bright light was shining against his eyelids, making his vision turn a fleshy red. Groaning, he opened his eyes into a squint and raised his head slightly. In front of him was darkness, the only source of light being a bright lamp hanging above him.

"I'm impressed," Daniel heard a voice say from beside him. He turned his head groggily to the left, seeing the same woman in red lean against a wooden table, a few weapons scattered on the surface ( **AN: I'm assuming you can place the names of at least 4 of the assailants at this point- green-haired girl, gray-haired boy, woman in red, and heterochromatic girl. The girl with blonde hair… well, we'll get to that** ), "Your recovery speed is phenomenal- I didn't expect for you to wake up for another thirty minutes or so."

Daniel's eyes shot open as he remembered the events that happened to him. He jerked forward, trying to reach in his toolbelt, only to realize he was tied to a sturdy chair, biting down a scream as he felt his injured wing scream in protest. The second thing he noticed was his missing toolbelt, which was now set on the table the woman was leaning against. Daniel tried to push his Aura to his limbs, attempting to activate his Semblance, but then he felt the dozen or so inhibitors set all across his chest, waist, and limbs. Daniel's breaths came in ragged bursts, his eyes darting around the room for any clues to where he was. "Why am I here?" he demanded.

The woman in red held up a purple Dust crystal from Daniel's toolbelt, inspecting it in the light. "Beautiful," she commented, avoiding Daniel's question, "How did you make these?"

Daniel sneered at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

The woman chuckled behind her mask, pocketing the crystal and walking over so she was in front of Daniel. Hearing various other footsteps, Daniel spun his head back and forth, watching as all the assailants that attacked him come out of the shadows. "My dear boy," the woman patronized, "we all have things that we'd like to know?"

"Where the hell is my mom?" Daniel questioned with a growl.

The woman sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "Teens these days- always in a rush for one thing or another." The woman was silent for a moment, then, "Hazel Gotzon, is it? I understand Adam Taurus told you about her… situation."

Daniel growled, "You're dead once I get out of this chair."

"Perhaps," the woman brushed off, "Or perhaps not. You see, this wasn't a kidnapping." Receiving a puzzled look from Daniel, she went on, "No, this was a sort of… recruitment."

"Recruitment," Daniel echoed, "Do you even hear yourself?! Nice recruitment techniques, though I would've thought that you'd want your newcomers to be in top shape." Daniel tried to fan out his wings, but the impaled one stiffened whenever the hole in it was moved.

Daniel couldn't tell, but he thought the woman was glaring slightly at the one that stabbed him. "Yes, that was unfortunate," she admitted, "Still, I believe you're perfect for our cause."

Daniel snorted, "Sorry, not interested in your propaganda. Now, if you could just point me to the nearest exit, that would be amazing."

"I don't believe you understand," The woman in red stated cockily, leaning in close enough so Daniel could make out every fine detail in her mask, "When I want something," her voice took on a dark undertone, "I get it."

Daniel let out an exaggerated yawn, looking at each and every person in what he assumed was their eyes. "You done yet?" he asked, "Because I have a team to get back to." The woman in red scoffed, standing back up straight while studying Daniel carefully.

Daniel found a blade pressed against his neck, looking down at the same type that impaled his wing. "You will not disrespect my Queen like that," the blonde assailant commanded.

The woman in red waved off the blonde, chuckling slightly. "Now, now- your time will come," she insisted. The blonde looked between her "Queen" and Daniel one last time before pulling her war fan back, stepping back into the circle. "Now Daniel," she continued, "I wished you saw it in our eyes. You see, the governments are failing. The schools are turning their 'students' into mindless slaves, fighting to keep society's 'orderly fashion' in line. We," she gestured to the circle of masked individuals (besides the one girl who continued to smile smugly), "are enlightened- we have seen past their lies."

"And this is starting to sound like a plot of overthrowing society as we know it," Daniel summarized, rolling his eyes, "Yadda, yadda, yadda, long monologue; more boring stuff, then you ask me to join. Am I getting this right?" When he could feel the annoyance radiating off the woman in red, he smirked. "Yep, I think I got it spot on. In any case, there's nothing you could do to make me join."

Now, it was the woman's turn to smirk. "Are you positive?" Daniel shifted uncomfortably in his seat, making her smile broaden. "Neo, if you would?"

The girl without a mask continued to smirk, skipping away towards a wall. A lever was loudly flipped, making a bright light appear against the wall in front of Daniel, just a few yards behind the woman in red. She stepped to the side for Daniel's jaw to drop in shock from what he saw. "Mom," he gasped.

Hazel Gotzon was strapped, spread-eagle, against the previously white tiled wall, red blotches appearing under a few wounds. Her brown dress was in tatters, strips falling off around her legs while a slight opening exposed her side. Some of her blonde hair had been ripped out of her scalp, along with the feathers that previously dotted her arms beautifully. Now, they looked like large patches of them had been torn off, replaced by red beads that clotted with blood. "Mom!" Daniel shouted, louder this time.

Hazel looked up, her eyes trying to blink away exhaustion. Her eyes widened at the sight of her disgruntled son. "Daniel!" she exclaimed, "I thought I told you to leave me!"

Daniel looked at his mother with doleful eyes. "I couldn't do that," he said softly.

Hazel lowered her head, staring at the floor. She sighed, defeated. "It's not your fault," she gently insisted, "I was the one that was careless."

Daniel glared ferociously at the woman in red that was watching their exchange. "You're dead," he growled, his voice growing louder and louder, "You hear me?! DEAD!"

The woman waved it aside. "As I said before, perhaps. Now, is that a good enough incentive for you?"

Daniel's mouth went dry as he stared at his mother. "I," he stammered, "I-."

"Don't you dare, Daniel!" his mom demanded, staring intensely at her son, "I will not let you give up the world for me."

The woman in red rolled her eyes behind her mask, beckoning the green-haired girl to step forward with a roll of her hand. The girl nodded, grabbing a small sickle from the table and making her way over to Hazel. She pressed the edge of the blade against her neck, just above her neck restraint. "You wouldn't," Hazel scoffed, trying to form a smile, "You still need me for Daniel on your side."

The woman in the red dress sighed in exasperation. "I thought I was giving you to a family reunion," she exclaimed. "Very well, I assume my negotiations aren't good enough?"

"Family reunion?" Hazel repeated, glaring at the woman.

"Negotiations?" Daniel questioned, "This is a demand, not a negotiation!"

A hard whack made Daniel's head jolt forward, only staying in his seat by his restraints. He turned around to see the same girl with blonde hair, her hand raised, trembling in anger. "Keep it up, and I might just kill you second," Daniel vowed.

"Funny you would say that," the woman in red transitioned, "If your mother's not enough, then how about the rest of them? What was it? Team DWBY?"

Daniel scoffed, "Good luck taking them down. And good luck finding anyone to hold against them. I really pity you guys if that's your last resort."

"Pity?" the woman repeated mockingly, "Who am I supposed to be afraid of- Ozpin?" She laughed, "Oh, he doesn't know what's going on under his nose. 'The Queen has pawns'. Well, he still doesn't know the half of it!" She then turned slightly more serious again, "Oh, that's not the entirety of things, now is it?" the woman continued deviously. Daniel's face paled as he started to understand. "Yes, don't you have someone else special in your heart? A little… gem in your life? Maybe a sickness you'd like to cure in your heart? A rose you might love?"

"You touch her," Daniel shouted, "And I fucking swear you won't live to see tomorrow!"

"Oh, the vulnerability of the girl," the woman said like she wasn't interrupted by a death threat, sarcasm and smugness dripping from her voice, "No one would think twice if her stomach gave way. After all, she is in a very _terrible_ condition."

"YOU'RE DEAD," Daniel roared.

"And that's my offer," the woman concluded smugly, "Everyone you love for your oath that you'll be a part of my revolution. So, what will it be?"

Daniel didn't answer for a good minute. Hazel continued to shout, "It's a bluff! They can't hold all of them against you at once," as the girl with green hair pressed the sickle against her neck with more pressure, effectively shutting her up.

The woman sighed as Daniel continued to remain silent, jaw slack as his brain went into meltdown. "I don't understand- are they that expendable?" she marveled. She pressed a palm against her mask, shaking her head in half exasperation, half-grudging respect for Daniel's 'lack of attachment'. "Very well, I apparently have to set my last card on the table." She looked up at the blonde who still wore her humanoid mask.

The blonde took a step back. "My Queen, you promised me," she exclaimed.

"Yes, I did promise you," the woman agreed, "I promised you closure, and this is one way of receiving it."

The blonde raised her hands to her mask, her hands hesitating by the sides of her head. "Holly, if you would?" the woman inquired.

After a moment, her hands continued to the back of her head, unclasping a strap. She removed the mask from her face, letting it sit in her hand as she stared at Daniel with intense brown eyes. Daniel looked back at her with a confused expression, tilting his head. "What's the matter?" the girl snapped at him, eyes blazing with fury, "Can't even recognize your own sister?"

 **AN: PLOT MOTHER TRUCKING TWIST, BOYS AND GIRLS**. **HELLO, IT'S-. Wait, we're not done? Oh, the script's not done yet. *slinks back into a corner. You saw nothing of me…**

Daniel's jaw dropped in shock. "H-Holly?" he gasped. He heard his mom gasp as well, both of their eyes widening to comical levels. "But… but-."

"You saw me die?" Holly finished bitterly, glaring at Daniel, "No, but I saw you leave me. You left me to die, "she turned slowly towards Hazel, "You, and my _dear_. _Sweet_. _Mother_."

Daniel jerked his head towards the smug woman in red, rage flowing through his veins. "What did you do to Holly?" he demanded.

Another hard punch made Daniel see stars, this time making a bruise form on his cheek. "Don't you dare talk about my Queen like that," Holly growled, glaring at Daniel, "She was the one that saved me. The one that cared for me. She's more of a family than you or that bitch you call 'Mom'."

The woman in red pulled Holly back by her arm, staring at her intently from behind the mask. Realizing she may have angered her, Holly bowed her head in submission. "Apologies, my Queen," Holly said.

"What did they do to you, Holly?" Hazel gawked, staring at the daughter she didn't recognize.

Holly's glare focused on her mom. "Ah yes," she spat angrily, "How could I forget my _mother_?" making 'mother' sound as much of an insult as possible. She stepped closer, her aura murderous, until they were face to face. "What did they do to me?" she echoed, "They saved me. My Queen is the one that cared for me, saw the error of my ways, and helped correct them. What did you do? Abandon me on that street."

"We didn't abandon you," Daniel said behind her, groaning from his splitting headache, "We were dragged away, kicking and screaming. We thought the police-." That's when it hit him. "You…" he started, looking back at the woman in red, "You were that policewoman. You were the one that took Holly."

The woman walked over, smug, and dragged Holly back under her arm, facing Daniel. Holly looked up to her mask in adoration as the woman under the mask stared at Daniel, arrogance rolling off her in waves. "I believe the phrase you're looking for is 'took her in'," she corrected, "You see, she was the one that decided she wanted to follow me. I just gave her the compassion she deserved."

Daniel looked between the two women, panic evident in his eyes. "Holly, please," he begged, "She's using you. We actually care for you. We-."

"Is that why when I turned on the news, I saw the kingdom celebrating you two leaving- the two of you surviving-, not a second thought if I was alive?" Holly questioned.

"We were driven out by the government," Daniel pled instantly, "There's a difference!"

Holly's eyes blazed in fury, ignoring her Queen's call and standing at Daniel's side. Daniel stared at her with pleading eyes, whispering, "Please, Holly." Holly promptly gave no indication that she heard him, reaching for his uninjured wing. One hand near where the wing met his back and another about halfway, she jerked her hands violently, snapping the fragile bones that allowed Daniel to fly.

Daniel screamed in agony, flinching as he heard multiple teeth-grinding cracks in his limb. The Queen raced over, throwing Holly to the ground while staring at her with vehemence. "What is the matter with you?!" she exclaimed, "I thought I made it specifically clear that he was not to be injured unless he refused to join! You just cost us a potential asset, you, ignorant girl!"

Holly crawled onto her knees, bowing at her Queen's feet, her forehead almost touching the ground. "I-I'm sorry, m-my Queen," she stammered, trembling in fear, "I allowed my anger to control me."

The Queen let out a deep, angry sigh, trying to let out her anger. "Stand up," she said after a few seconds of composure. Holly shot too her feet, her head still bowed in either respect or fear. "I will not tolerate any more disobedience- is that clear?" Holly nodded in submission, sighing in relief that there was no direct punishment.

The woman in red sighed, not anticipating how out of control this family was. She turned back to Daniel who was breathing deeply, ragged breaths coming out irregularly as he clenched his teeth together. Daniel's eyes were shut tightly, trying to bear the pain. She was about to speak when Hazel shouted first, "You monster!"

"I prefer 'One Who Does What's Necessary'," the woman corrected. She focused on Daniel again. "And this is what I have to give," she said, grabbing Daniel's attention, "Your family. Your friends. And a chance of redemption. If you give me your word, I can guarantee you a chance to explain to Holly your… side of the story." She finished her small speech, a small grin stretching across her face.

Daniel ducked his head, contemplating everything that happened as thousands of thoughts raced through his brain at once. He looked up, a defeated look on his face, the light dying in his eyes. "Can you also ensure that Team CFVY also is not harmed? And Team JNPR?" Daniel asked.

"Daniel, no!" Hazel shouted, thrashing in her bonds. It was stopped when the sickle's blade dug a bit deeper into Hazel's neck. "You can't give them what they want!"

Daniel turned to his mother with solemn eyes, his expression hopeless. The look on his face clenched at his mother's heart, making her realize the impossible situation he was put in. "I'm sorry, Mom," he whispered, "I have to get Holly back."

Hazel nodded in understanding, lowering her head and staring at her floor. The woman in red went on once Hazel was done with her interruption, "Yes, I can assure the safety of two more teams." The masked figure's expression seemed to mock Daniel, smiling broadly. "So," she continued, "Are you joining the cause?"

Daniel stared at his shoes, tears starting to form at the corners of his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"No, Daniel," Hazel started gently. Daniel looked up, slightly shocked to see his mom staring back at him, smiling. "I should be the one that's sorry. I'm sorry you had to be here, making this… decision."

The woman in red held back Holly from attacking her mom, staring at the mother with interest. "How kind of you," she mocked, "But I do believe this is Daniel's decision."

Hazel continued to smile, tears pooling in her eyes. "That's your second mistake." The woman cocked her head to the side. "You believe that this is Daniel's decision to make."

"And the first mistake?" the woman questioned, slightly intrigued.

Hazel looked at her dead in the eyes, the smile barely wavering. "Daniel needed to make chains of iron to keep me from strangling him for sneaking out of the house once. What makes you think leather would work?" Hazel turned to Daniel, tears now streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, son," she whispered.

The woman understood what she heard, but she didn't process it fast enough. Neither did the girl holding Hazel at knifepoint. "Get away from her!" the woman shouted at the green-haired assailant. It was too late, and they reacted too slowly. Hazel jerked her hand out of one of the straps, her neck out of another. Her arm shot out, slamming into the assailant's face. As she stumbled away, Hazel wrestled the sickle away from her.

Hazel held the sickle to her neck, looking back at Daniel one last time through watery eyes. "It's my decision now," she breathed, silencing herself with a flick of her wrist.

Hazel took a few ragged gasps of air before the light died from her eyes, her arm flopping down to her side, the bloody sickle clattering to the ground. She went as limp as a ragdoll, only the straps holding her up from collapsing onto the ground. The tiles around her feet were stained with red, a fountain of blood pooling from Hazel's neck, painting her clothes a dark shade of red.

The girl that held the sickle let out a muffled, shrill scream as a gloved hand went to her mouth, backing away from the corpse of Hazel. The heterochromatic girl who flipped the light switch just stared at her with slight interest, like she was a frog that you would dissect in a science class. The boy with light gray hair stood still, frozen in shock as he looked at the body and Daniel, waiting for an explosion that was waiting to happen. Holly smirked at the body of the woman that left her, crossing her arms over her chest. However, small flickers of doubt flared in her mind. " _I shouldn't care for her_ ," she said in her mind, trying to find satisfaction in Hazel's death, " _She left me._ "

" _So why do I feel so empty right now_?"

The Queen sighed, shaking her head. "Such a waste," she commented, "She could've been a valuable asset."

"Um, boss?" the gray-haired boy started, panic seeping in his voice. The woman in red turned to him, noticing that he was pointing rapidly at the hostage in the chair.

Slightly bewildered, she turned to Daniel when her eyes snapped open in horror. The aura inhibitors around his chest and arms- they were decaying before her very eyes. Daniel shook madly in his chair, ignoring the pain in all his wounds as his aura flared. A black light shone from his chest, at first barely bright enough to be noticed in the lamp's light but growing quickly. In mere seconds, the dark light was already blinding, the restraints evaporating in front of everyone's eyes as the last inhibitor was vaporized.

"Clear the building!" the Queen shouted, running for the exit as she shot a burst of fire at Daniel who was engulfed in his Dark aura, standing up in his chair. As the flames touched the edge of the sphere of darkness around him, it was consumed instantly, not even a wisp of smoke for any indication that anything happened. Eyes widening in shock, the woman dashed out of the building with her followers right on her heels.

Daniel let out an animalistic roar, releasing all the pain and agony. His built-up aura imploded briefly before engulfing the room in a second, quickly expanding until the entire building was completely drowned in a black light.

 **-xX-Slight Line Break-Xx-**

"Where the fuck is he?!"

Coco and Velvet were going down yet another street, yelling Daniel's name in the silent night as they searched for the third hour in a row.

A man came out of his house, dressed in nothing more than a pair of blue pajamas and shaking a fist angrily at the two Huntresses in training. "Keep it down, will you?" he shouted, promptly being flipped off by Coco.

Velvet yelled out his name a few more times before collapsing on the curb, head in her hands. "He's not coming back tonight, is he?" she stated.

Coco sat next to her partner, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know," she admitted, "One thing's for certain, though." Velvet looked up from her hands, staring at her partner intently. Coco took off her shades, looking into Velvet's eyes with her own coffee-brown ones seriously. "When he gets back, he's getting the beat down of a lifetime," she declared.

Velvet chuckled to herself at Coco's simplistic nature. "Of course," she simply agreed, "I call for a second round with him, though."

Coco smirked at her response. "Deal," she said right before a loud boom was heard, deafening the pair of them. Velvet and Coco jumped to their feet, staring in the distance with mouths agape. A looming ball of darkness started up from the outskirts, rising above the buildings and trees.

The same man threw open his front door, glaring at the two girls. "What the hell are you two doing?" he questioned.

"Oh, shut up," Coco snapped, turning back to her partner. "Let's go!" Coco jumped up to her feet, sprinting down the street with a second wind while Velvet followed suit.

"That was the warehouse district!" Velvet shouted at Coco, pointing where the cloud of pitch black was. Just as quickly as it started, the darkness dissipated into thin air, leaving no smoke, no anything besides a pair of two girls confused. "What do you think was that?" Velvet asked.

"Daniel," Coco answered. She pulled out her Scroll, going through her contacts quickly before pressing one of them. A moment later, Ozpin's face appeared on the screen, looking at Coco with a serious expression. "Headmaster," she shouted, not slowing down as wind whistled around her, "We found Daniel."

"Are you sure it's him?" Ozpin asked.

"Explosion in the warehouse district, and the thing that came out of it was pitch black and produced no smoke," Coco explained between breaths, "Unless someone knows how to create Dark Dust, I'm betting it's Daniel."

Ozpin nodded, standing up from his desk and grabbing his cane. "Approach with caution," he warned, "Tell any officials you were sent by me. And at any sign of trouble, do not engage. I'll be there shortly."

"Understood, Headmaster," Coco replied, hanging up. She stowed her Scroll in her pocket just as Velvet grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. "What?" Coco snapped, looking back at her partner.

Velvet looked over Coco's shoulder, her face paling dramatically. "We're here," she stated, her eyes wide in a horrified expression.

Coco turned around and gasped at what she saw. In her life, there were hundreds of instances that made her blood chill- her first Grimm hunt, the time she almost faced death before Velvet rescued her from a fatal mistake, and the horrifying experience of the Breach, watching as Grimm poured into Vale in alarming numbers. Nothing would've been able to prepare her for this, though.

Where a warehouse once stood was just an open crater. The entire thing was perfectly rounded off, defying any natural explosion or disaster. It opened as wide as an airship and as deep as a swimming pool. Small wisps of steam curled up from the edges like everything had been boiled in a large area. In the center of the crater was Daniel, barely able to get onto his hands and knees, taking in small, staggered gasps of air. One of his wings had a gaping hole in the center while the other was bent in directions that weren't supposed to be possible, looking as if Daniel was cast down from the heavens and ended up like this. A few feet away from Daniel was the only other thing that survived the blast- a broken corpse.

"Holy…" Coco gasped out, a fist covering her mouth in horror as her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. A few moments passed, the two of them staring in horrifying amazement. "Come on," Coco commanded, walking closer to the two people.

"Coco," Velvet hissed, "It's not safe!" Coco ignored her partner, sliding down the sides of the perfectly round pit. Velvet looked around for anything else before eventually giving in and following her bullheaded leader.

"Daniel!" Coco shouted, running to Daniel's side and kneeling down, "Are you alright?"

Daniel looked up with bleary eyes, his arms and legs visibly shaking from the strain of just propping himself up. "Holly?" he croaked out, his voice hoarse.

Coco tried to put a hand on Daniel's shoulder but pulled away quickly like her hand was burned. "Ow, damn it!" she cursed, shaking her hand. From where his body touched her hand, small tendrils of steam rose up, parts of her hand drying up and peeling away dead skin. Coco bit back a few more choice words before addressing Daniel again, "No, Daniel, it's me. Coco."

"Coco?" Daniel repeated, his eyes glazing over.

Velvet knelt close by, throwing an arm around Coco's shoulders. "And Velvet," she added.

"Where's," Daniel managed out before coughing a fit, "Where's Mom?"

Velvet looked up at Coco and then to the mangled body just out of Daniel's sight. She made her way over to Hazel, flipping her onto her back before backing away quickly, turning green. Velvet turned around, gagging and pushing down the contents of her stomach. After a few coughs, as she almost threw up a dozen times, Velvet knelt down beside Daniel. "I'm sorry, Daniel," she said gently, "She's… she's dead."

Daniel closed his eyes, trying to compose his breathing. "Can you bring her to me?" he asked.

Velvet looked at Coco hopelessly, almost puking again just thinking about the corpse. Coco sighed, standing up and walking over to Hazel's body. She gently slid her arms under her, lifting her up while trying to ignore the blood now staining Coco's own clothes. Coco set down her body next to Daniel who gathered enough strength to now sit up, but barely.

"Mom," Daniel stammered, his voice cracking with sobs, "I'm so sorry." He collapsed on her chest, crying his eyes out as Velvet and Coco watched solemnly.

Coco grimaced as she felt her cheeks were wet with tears. "Don't blame yourself, Daniel," she said.

"How can I not?" Daniel questioned, pulling back to look at his hands that were covered in his mom's blood. "I… I did this to her. She would've been alive if... if…" He didn't finish his sentence, but Coco and Velvet didn't need him to. They both bowed their heads in respect, closing their eyes as the world fell silent.

"It doesn't have to be this way," they heard Daniel say. Velvet and Coco looked up, staring at Daniel with a sad but confused look. Daniel was staring at his hands like they were the most interesting thing in the world, a crazed look in his eyes. "I can fix this," he whispered, "I have to fix this."

Coco's expression turned to stone. "Don't you dare do anything stupid, Daniel," she demanded.

"It's not stupid," Daniel breathed, his blue Aura coming back into his hands, "It's necessary." Without missing a heartbeat, he slammed his hands down, right onto Hazel's torn windpipe as he tried to fix his mistake. A blue glow started from his hands, lighting up the night sky as a bright flash expanded.

 **AN: …Well, that happened. Um, hey, guys. Fireflame here. So… yeah. That just happened.**

 **This was supposed to be a lot longer- like, around 7k words longer. But I had to stop it here. Mainly because I wouldn't have another chapter up this month.**

 **Did you like the plot twist in the middle there? I was so happy that no one guessed that Hazel was still alive. TO BE FAIR, I NEVER SAID SHE WAS DEAD. Look in my other chapters- not a single mention of it. I just... put her into critical condition, that's all.**

 **So, I know a few of you guys were looking for more action in this story. Well, here it is. I hope it was successful. It was hard coming up with how everything should be acted out. Almost as hard as writing Holly's lines and Hazel's death.**

 **Reviews time:**

 **G3r1k: the last chapter left you speechless? How about this one? (Yeah, I'm extremely sorry about emotionally scarring a few hundred people, but I digress.)**

 **Velocity the Wolf: Ok, nice pun. Very nice pun. Yang-level pun-age right there.**

 **I know it didn't show it, but Boyy2k also sent me a review in the form of a PM.**

 _*shrug* If it ain't it ain't *grin* Though I have to say that I like this Daniel. Just a bad day away from complete insanity. I love it. *Happy sigh* Well, nice chapter here. And a lot alike? *shrug* Okay. That's fine. Later._

 _~Boyy2k_

 **Is that a bad enough day for you? Also, plan on seeing this Daniel… maybe once more before he's put into retirement for a good 2-8 chapters.**

 **Once again, I apologize, but I'm not sorry. Bye!**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	21. Chapter 19: Wilted Hearts, Broken Wings

**Ok, wow. Um, that's amazing. And I mean the 2k views I got in less than a month. Thank you guys so much for this. Especially for some pretty weird and not-so-great chapters. ie: Chapter 4, the one I basically forgot how to form thoughts on. Anyways, enough rambling! Enjoy!  
**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY. Unless you're from a parallel universe where I actually am. If not, I'm still not the owner.**

" _Have you ever been in love? Horrible, isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses. You build up this whole armor, for years, so nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life… You give them a piece of you. They don't ask for it. They do something dumb one day like kiss you, or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so a simple phrase like 'maybe we should just be friends' or 'how very perceptive' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul- hurt, a body- hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. Nothing should be able to do that. Especially not love. I hate love."_

-Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9 ( _ **Sorry for the long quote. It's going to make sense, sadly.** )_

Chapter 19: Wilted Hearts and Broken Wings

Daniel woke up to a light being shone in his eyes, burning through his eyelids and turning his vision a fleshy red. Daniel blearily opened his eyes, squinting from the brightness of the different fluorescent lights. "He's awake," he heard a man exclaim from his right. When the light dimmed from blinding to tolerable, Daniel looked around, noticing his new hospital room. He lifted his head up slightly, straining his neck to see the half a dozen machines that constantly beeped at the foot of his bed. Letting his eyes stray a little farther down he noticed the bandages wrapped around his chest and the tubes linked in and on his arm and fingers, setting his head down from exhaustion.

Daniel rotated his head, wincing slightly as his cramped muscles protested from being moved against their will. From the corner of his eye, he saw a nurse turning back to face Daniel, leaning forward in his chair. "Welcome back," he said kindly, "That was a real scary condition you were put in."

Daniel shut his eyes again, feeling them dry up from the exposure to the light and air. "What happened?" he croaked, his voice sounding like a frog from not being used in a while.

The nurse answered, "The officials found you in the middle of a smoldering crater with two girls from Beacon and your mother." He noticed Daniel stiffen slightly, quickly moving on, "The girls are fine- they apparently arrived on the scene just a minute or so before the police."

"And my mom?" Daniel asked. When he didn't hear a response from the nurse, he cracked open his eyes, filling quickly with panic. "What happened to my mom?" he urged.

The nurse rubbed the back of his neck, his expression lost. "The thing is…," he drawled, "we don't really know. She passed on from blood loss, we deduced that. But...," he sighed, "well, it's hard to explain."

Daniel felt him sink in his bed, his worst fears confirmed. "Mom…" he breathed, tears starting to fill his eyes.

Pairs of feet hitting the tiled floor filled Daniel's ears as he heard at least three people enter his room. Daniel paid barely any attention as the nurse and one of the ones that entered exchanged words. He felt someone sit at the edge of his bed. "How are you, Daniel?" Daniel heard Ozpin's voice ask.

"If I told you how I actually feel," Daniel answered, "I'll probably be kicked out for my profanity."

"He's fine. Mentally," Ozpin reassured the spectators, his voice growing a little lighter. He turned back to the healing boy. "Do you remember what happened in the warehouse?"

Daniel remained silent for a few moments. "Can you tell me what happened?" Ozpin asked.

"Do I have a choice?" Daniel shot back, shutting his eyes to try and suppress the influx of memories.

"Yes, you do," Ozpin assured, "You don't have to tell me now, or at all for that matter. But, it would help tremendously if-."

"Headmaster Ozpin," the doctor interrupted, "It's probably best if you don't put as much strain on our patient if you mind."

Ozpin sighed. "Yes, I understand." He stood up from his seat on the bed, looking at Daniel one last time. Contemplating the pros and cons, Ozpin continued, "Show him the photos."

Daniel blinked. "What… what pictures?" he questioned.

The doctor blinked at Ozpin. "I'm sorry, what?" he exploded, "You can't possibly mean for me to bring out _those_. They'll traumatize him, and he's just barely recovered!"

"Oh, I'm not asking," Ozpin clarified, walking away with his cane swinging freely by his side, "I'm telling you to show it to him."

Daniel watched as the professor walked out of the room, his gaze still on the doorway even after Ozpin's departure. Suddenly, he turned to the doctor. "What pictures?" he insisted.

The doctor exchanged a glance with the nurse, internally debating. "Son, you should probably get some rest," he gently suggested, "You still haven't recovered from what you-."

Daniel shot up from the covers, sitting up and glaring at the doctor with intense eyes. "What pictures?" he growled.

The doctor paled as he locked eyes with Daniel's red and blue ones. Eventually, he relented with a sigh. "Zuri," he called, "bring them in."

"But, sir," the nurse tried to protest, "Are we really sure-."

"Just show them," the doctor interrupted, "He's going to have to find out sooner or later."

Zuri was opening his mouth to shoot back a response when he thought twice about it. His shoulders slightly slumped in defeat, Zuri walked over to a small white cupboard in the corner of the room, near the door. He opened it with a low squeak, reaching around for a small folder. When he pulled out the thin brown folder, Zuri slammed the door shut, walking back over and handing it gently to an inpatient Daniel who snatched it away quickly. "I'm sorry," Zuri managed out before leaving the room.

Daniel, in slight confusion, horror, and curiosity, flipped open the folder slowly. Inside were pictures. Dozens of pictures of the same thing. A mangled body. The arms dotted with blood stains and black feathers were Daniel's first clue. The golden hair was the next. The lithe frame and familiar facial features made her strikingly familiar, but Daniel couldn't manage to piece the clues together. Or rather, he refused to. "I thought," he choked up, "I thought I saved her, though."

The doctor shook his head, not daring to look up at Daniel. "She died before you tried your stunt, at least that's what the girls say." He walked over next to Daniel's side, thumbing through a couple of the photos. "This," he pulled a particular one out, "is what you did."

Daniel took the photo with trembling hands, his eyes not agreeing with what his eyes saw. Along Photo Hazel's neck wasn't a scar. There wasn't the split skin that appeared from the incision in her neck. Her throat looked like it hadn't been pierced. Actually, he could barely make out her neck at all.

In its position was a blob. There wasn't a better word for it. It was a mass of something… unnatural. Between Hazel's chin and her collarbone was a deformed, expanded mass of pinkish skin that bloated to go past her chin and almost touched her ears. Hundreds of black feathers poked out at irregular intervals, almost like they were jabbed into her neck at random. The horror didn't end as sticking out from the sides were white stick-like figures. It took Daniel a second to realize that they were bones. Small, thin bones that sharpened into points at the ends, making the blob appear like it donned a bony and feathery frill.

Daniel gently touched the blob in the picture, tears streaming down the sides of his face. "What did I do…" he breathed, his breath coming out in sharp, rigid, shallow gasps.

The doctor watched Daniel with sympathetic eyes. "We know what your Semblance does," he informed gently, putting a hand softly on Daniel's arm, "We know what you were trying to do."

Daniel continued to be fixated on the cruel photo, his shoulders shaking with unshed sobs. "What did I do?" he repeated.

The doctor backed away slowly, standing at the foot of Daniel's bed. "Can you please reach out and touch your back?"

Daniel complied, hooking his arm and feeling the strips of bandage circling around his torso. Then, with a sudden realization, he looked at the doctor with a horrified expression, a small look in his eyes. The doctor closed his eyes, nodding to Daniel's dismay. "You used your own body mass," he affirmed with a grim expression, "We know how your Semblance works; you can't make things out of nothing, so you used the closest alternative- yourself."

Daniel's stomach couldn't take any more of the burden. He spazzed out, falling out of the bed with a thud. He dully noted that the doctor was at his side, a hand on his back as he pushed a bucket beneath Daniel's head. A moment later, Daniel began to wretch, the acidic slime hitting the plastic bucket with a sickening squelch. The stench coming from the whitish-yellow goo mixed with the already throat-closing smell of bleach and antibiotics, making it unbearable for Daniel's already compromised stomach.

The doctor sighed as he watched his patient continue to empty out anything that remained in his stomach. "This is why I didn't want to show the pictures to him, Ozpin," he grumbled to himself. Directing his attention back to Daniel, he disclosed in a soft voice, "No one can play God, son. Doctors know this fact too well, and you will as well."

Daniel barely heard the last word before darkness consumed him, passing out in his own vile vomit.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

The next time Daniel awoke, sunlight streamed into the room, lighting it up with a nicer, warmer feeling. Daniel moaned as he tried to block out the blinding light with his eyes, eventually giving up to sit up attentively. Just as he pushed himself up with his hands, he was tackled back as a mass of brown and black slammed into his chest. "You're awake!" the person exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Daniel's chest.

Daniel chuckled lightly as he gently patted the girl on the back. "Nice to see you, too, Coco," he replied. It was calming, holding the girl to his chest without having to fear anything.

As he continued to have that thought, a fist smashed into his elbow. Daniel yelped as the muscles in his arm started screaming from not being used in days. "That's what you get," Coco grumbled, raising her head to glare seriously into Daniel's eyes, tears starting to fill her the brims of her eyes, "You idiot! I thought you were supposed to be smarter than to charge into a building on the premise of two vague tips from two people you hate!"

Daniel winced as Coco explained his foolish plan. "When you put it that way…" he drawled. Coco buried her face into Daniel's hospital gown again, letting Daniel pat down her hair in comfort. "I'm sorry you guys were dragged into this."

"Two things," Coco answered, "One, sorry doesn't cut it; you're making it up to me by a shopping spree-."

Daniel laughed at Coco's simplistic request. "I'll keep that in mind," he agreed.

He felt Coco unwillingly crack a smirk. "Good," she went on, "And two, I'm not the one who you should be apologizing to."

Daniel's expression turned solemn, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. "Yeah," he drawled, "There's RWBY I'm going to have to worry about."

Coco nodded, peeling herself off Daniel's chest. "You're in a lot of deep shit," Coco laughed, but she had to wipe her eyes as tears started to form. She stood up straight, backing away from his bed. She took another few seconds to examine Daniel. Coco smiled. "Welcome back, Daniel," she ended, walking out the door.

"Wait!" Daniel exclaimed right as she was about to exit. Coco put a hand on the doorframe, waiting. "Did you know?" Daniel asked in merely a whisper, "About my mom?"

Coco stood silently for a minute. Finally, she spoke: "Velvet and I were both there when you tried to save her." She turned around, a sad glint in her eyes. "Neither of us blame you for what you tried to do." With that, she turned to corner, out of sight but not out of mind.

Daniel stared blankly down at his sheets, vaguely noticing the tear stains on his shirt where Coco cried. Two thoughts went 'round and 'round in his head, the answers skirting just out of range like a task that always had another step to it. " _How did it go so wrong?_ " " _What do I do now?_ "

The same nurse found him in the exact same position half an hour later with his head bowed. "Nice to know you're feeling better," the nurse commented lightly, "Anything you need- food, a book, or something?"

Daniel finally peeled his eyes away and focused on the nurse. Zuri, if he remembered correctly. "How long was I out?" he asked, his voice hoarse and wavering.

"Since that night: four days more or less. You woke up two days ago and then passed out until today."

"What about the other girls?" Daniel asked.

"The girls on your team, right? The ones injured at Beacon?" Zuri clarified. When Daniel nodded, he continued, "They're mostly fine. Miss Schnee had to stay for a few days here. She got checked out yesterday, I believe."

Daniel nodded, his eyes glazing over as he stared out the window, looking expressionlessly at the mid-morning sky. "Could I," he croaked, "Could I make a call?"

The nurse smiled as he dug out his Scroll. "Sure, kid," Zuri replied. He handed to Daniel, saying, "May I ask who you're calling?"

Daniel punched in a few numbers, offhandedly responding, "Ozpin."

Surprise flickered on the man's face before it morphed into a look of confusion. "Wouldn't you like to talk to your team first?" he asked, clueless.

Daniel scoffed lightly, a sad expression on his face while the Scroll rang. "Believe me," he muttered, "They would like to see just about anyone besides me right now."

A beat passed as the scroll continued to ring. Zuri opened his mouth to say, "No one's going to blame you for being at the wrong place at the wrong time," being ignored as Daniel clenched his fist at the memory of that night.

Daniel was about to shoot back a retort before the Scroll rang one last time. "Hello?" Opzin's voice was heard over the transceiver.

"Headmaster?" Daniel replied, drumming his fingers against his leg rapidly as his palms started to sweat.

"Ah, Daniel," Ozpin said, his chair creaking slightly as Daniel listened to him sit forward attentively, "I presume you're ready?"

"Yeah," Daniel affirmed with a sigh, his mouth void of any moisture, "I think I'm ready to talk about it."

"Are you sure? I'd rather wait a few more days than miss an important detail tod-."

"No," Daniel interrupted, "I mean, sorry, Headmaster. But I think I remember most of it."

"As you wish," the gray-haired man calmly replied, "I'll be there as quickly as I can." Just as Daniel was about to say his goodbye, Ozpin added, "I hope you're ready for what comes in the future."

"I hope so, too," Daniel answered quietly, listening to the beeping that meant the end of the call. Daniel exhaled deeply, handing the scroll back to its rightful owner. "Zuri, is it?" he called for the nurse.

"Yep, that's me," Zuri answered.

"Can you get me some water, please?" Daniel asked, letting his head thump against the pillows beneath him, "I'm going to have to do a lot of talking."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Ozpin sat back in his chair, his shoulders slumped by the gravity of Daniel's explanation. "That is," he started, "a lot to take in."

It was currently noon in the hospital, a detail Daniel only remembered based on his stomach growling in hunger (or that could've been from the days he didn't have a solid meal). Ozpin sat in a chair by Daniel's bedside, listening to the teen give his detailed version of what happened when he left Beacon. Glynda was with them, jotting down notes based on Daniel's words. She only showed her true feelings when frowning during Hazel's death and Holly's return.

"Yeah," Daniel replied, taking a sip of water. He set the glass down in his lap, his fingers drumming rapidly against the sides.

Ozpin remained noiseless for a few seconds. Then, he asked, "What was it that 'The Queen' said? Why she wasn't afraid of me, I mean."

Daniel squinted hard, trying to recall that instant. "Something about you not knowing what's going on under your nose," he remembered, "And something about 'The Queen has pawns'? Does that mean something?"

Ozpin nodded absently, turning in his chair to stare at his coworker. "Scan Beacon's data," he commanded, "All of it. We have a leak, or worse, a virus creating multiple ones."

The platinum-blonde took her eyes away from her tablet, startled. "Sir?" she questioned.

"This 'Queen' has made a sloppy move," Ozpin declared, standing up and pacing back and forth, "Only three people know of that message, and none of us can be moles." He turned back to Daniel. "Are you sure she didn't give any more clues?"

Daniel shook his head, confusion dominating his features. "No, Headmaster," he answered.

Ozpin nodded as he turned his head to examine Goodwitch, still standing there with a serious expression. "Cleanse the systems," he demanded, "Stop the virus before it intrudes every system. And make sure the CCT Tower isn't affected, either; that's what the thief planted during the dance."

"Thief?" Daniel echoed as Goodwitch ducked out of the room, "Dance? What are you-?"

"Now's not the time," Ozpin interrupted, "I'll try and tell you what you need to know once you're better. For now," he started towards the exit, "rest up. Adapt to the changes and live. That is what a Hunter does, after all."

"Wait!" Daniel exclaimed, making Ozpin stop. "What about the threats? The ones made if I didn't join. Seeing as how I'm here, I'm guessing I didn't comply. What happens to Ruby, Yang, the others?"

"There should be no worry," Ozpin assured, "Beacon has the most secure defenses and security, not to mention the Atlas troops roaming the city."

"That didn't stop them from the… hack you and Professor Goodwitch mentioned," Daniel argued.

"True," Ozpin admitted, "What would you like me to do? Impose a curfew on your team? Make a professor escort them from location to location?" Ozpin rapped his fingertips against his cane. "None of the options are appealing, both for your team and for our situation- if we make it so they are safeguarded, your assailants will know instantly, making your team more of a target than ever."

"So you're using them as bait?" Daniel exploded.

"I did not say that," Ozpin answered calmly, "If we keep your team just as it is, these adversaries won't be any the wiser. This knowledge needs to be kept a secret, hidden so suspicion won't arise. If these people know that you've told me about the threats, what else do you think you told me, potentially tipping them off and enhancing their plans forward? No, we must be subtle to our approach, or else everything we've learned will go to waste."

Daniel finally settled down, the tension releasing from his shoulders. A more solemn expression settled on his face. "And what about Holly?" he asked quietly, "Is there a chance to get her back?"

Ozpin stayed silent for a few seconds, contemplating on how to put it. "It's not as easy as it should be," he finally replied, "She might've forgotten her near-death experience and had her memories altered by the Queen she looks up to. Or she could've formed the thoughts on her own." Daniel's shoulders sagged, the tiredness in his eyes all the more predominant as he bowed his head. "In any case, we can't determine what the cause of how she behaves, let alone correct it." Ozpin sighed as Daniel closed his eyes in defeat, laying back with his arms splayed out on the bed. "I'm sorry, but unless you can awaken specific memories that could help her, there's almost no chance of bringing your version of Hazel back. Try and cure a disease without knowing the disease itself, with no medicine, and with no idea how to treat it even if you know what it is. This is the predicament we're put in right now."

Shaking his head, Daniel settled back into his covers. "I honestly don't follow your train of thought," he admitted, "but I got the gist of it."

Ozpin chuckled lightly as he stood in the doorframe, turning around one more time with his cane in tow. "All I need from you now," he said, "is for you to be fully rested and back in Beacon as quickly as possible."

Daniel closed his eyes while the sound of Ozpin's shoes clicking against tiles filled his ears. "Oh, and one last thing," Ozpin remembered, "I contacted Team RWBY about your condition. I will assume at least one will appear in… oh, about-."

A second pair of shoes, hitting the ground like a drum, interrupted Ozpin as they skidded to a halt. "Where is he?" Daniel heard a girl question.

Ozpin chuckled slightly as his footsteps resumed. "I'll leave you to it."

Daniel peeked his eyes from behind his eyelids, gazing at the doorway. Standing there was the girl of his dreams. The familiar red cape draping behind her, the red highlights in her dark-brown hair, and especially the stunning silver eyes. "Hey, Rubes," Daniel greeted meekly, groaning softly as he sat up.

A small red blur crossed the room, pushing Daniel back down onto the bed. Daniel hissed as the wounds on his back screamed. Realizing what happened, the girl in red lessened the pressure but kept her hold around Daniel's neck as tight as ever. "Don't do that to us," Ruby sniffled.

Daniel's heart clenched at the heartbreaking sound, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend. "I'm sorry, Ruby," he croaked out, his throat constricting from raw emotion, "I- I'm so sorry."

Daniel felt tears forming in Ruby's eyes, dripping onto his blue gown and darkening it with salty drops. "I thought- I thought you died," she sobbed, her hold on Daniel's neck tightening.

He didn't notice the tears forming in his own eyes until one hit his hand, wiping it away as Ruby continued to cling onto his neck. "I'm sorry," he echoed hollowly, "I couldn't help anyone- it was selfish of me."

"Don't say that," Ruby interjected, "You tried to save your mom. Anyone else that wouldn't do that is an idiot. You were just doing what was right."

"Even hurting your teammates?" Daniel asked bitterly.

"Oh, Yang?" Ruby's voice was muffled by his gown, "You just trapped her- she's fine."

Daniel blinked when Ruby didn't go on. "Wait," he started, peeling Ruby off him to cup her cheeks with both hands, "That's it? No one else?"

Ruby shook her head, wiping snot away from her lips. "Weiss and Blake were both hurt when they were fighting Adam," she explained, making Daniel's eyes go wide.

Daniel ducked his head, muttering, "Why would they do that?"

"Because you're their friend," Ruby replied, not understanding Daniel's questioned as she playfully punched his shoulder.

Daniel remained silent for a bit too long, worry growing inside Ruby. Before she could ask about it, Daniel himself asked, "How are they?"

Ruby's face was smothered into Daniel's neck, making him instinctively jacket her with his arms. "Yang was fine," Ruby replied, "Blake's face is going to scar a bit, and Weiss had a knife in her leg." Under her breath, she muttered, "Last time I checked."

"Wait," Daniel inquired, stroking Ruby's hair, "Last time you checked? What does that mean?"

"It means they lied," Ruby snapped uncharacteristically, gazing into Daniel's eyes with a fiery anger, "They lied to me. They lied to both of us." Ruby felt tears form again, burrowing her face into Daniel's heart. "Everything could've been avoided," she whispered, "if they just told us."

Realization dawned on Daniel's face. "They told you about Adam's message, didn't they?" he asked. When Ruby nodded in response, Daniel sighed. "Ruby," he started, "even if they did lie to us, you shouldn't just push them away."

"They started this mess," she huffed, her fists clenching behind Daniel's back, "If they just told us, you wouldn't have been like this."

Daniel winced as Ruby unknowingly was repeating a lie he told himself the past few days. "It wouldn't've changed anything," he reasoned, "I would've still gone to save my mom, no matter what."

Ruby remained silent for a heartbeat. "Why are you defending them?" she questioned the familiar red and blue eyes, gazing up at them, "They lied to you, too."

Daniel exhaled through his nose, looking out the window. "Maybe it's because I feel a bit guilty," he admitted, "I should've been the one to help them take down Adam, not take them down because they were in my way."

Ruby tried to bury her face back into Daniel's chest before he gently lifted her head by her chin, a finger angling her head. Daniel rested his forehead against hers. "Let's not talk about that anymore," he suggested, "I'm here, you're here with me, all of us are alive."

The girl in red smiled, tears still falling but not streaming. "Sure," she agreed, leaning forward and kissing Daniel.

Daniel strengthened the kiss, wrapping his arms around Ruby as her arms went around his neck.

" _Everything you love for your oath._ "

Daniel's eyes furrowed as the thought crossed his mind, dozens more following behind it.

" _Someone else special in your heart? A little… gem in your life?_ "

Daniel tried to ignore his head, deepening the kiss as Ruby pressed against him, laying on him.

" _Maybe a sickness you'd like to cure in your heart?_ "

" _A rose you might love?_ "

Daniel had to push Ruby away, his arms on her shoulders as she leaned over him, a look of confusion on her face. "What's wrong?" she asked gently.

Daniel couldn't see his girlfriend's face. " _Oh, the vulnerability of the girl. No one would think twice if her stomach gave way. After all, she is in a very terrible condition._ " The Grimm mask staring at him seared his mind. Smirking endlessly as he tried to escape the prison that was his own head.

" _You should have joined us,_ " he could hear the same, honey-like voice pierce his brain, " _Now, you face the consequences._ " The grinning Grimm mask leaned in closer. " _I did warn you what would happen, didn't I?_ "

"Daniel?" he vaguely heard Ruby call out. He shook his head, clearing his mind as he finally descended back into reality. When his vision cleared of that memory, he could see Ruby still leaning over him, worry and fear seeping into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Daniel tried to shoot her a halfhearted grin but only managed out a grimace. "Sorry," he apologized in a whisper, letting his arms go slack and Ruby laying against his chest, "I just… I'm just remembering."

Ruby looked up with sympathetic eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

Daniel opened his mouth for a few seconds before shutting it again. He sighed as he unwrapped his arms from Ruby's sides. "No," he replied, "I'm just… I'm just extremely tired."

Ruby shifted awkwardly, sitting up and moving to the edge of Daniel's bed. "I could leave if you want," she suggested.

"I don't want to be a nuisance to you," Daniel said, "You probably have class right now, don't you?" When his girlfriend remained silent, he gave her a gentle nudge. "Go," he said softly, "And while you're at it, try and make it up with your team- they don't deserve the hate you're giving them."

"No promises," Ruby grumbled under her breath.

Daniel noticed Ruby's gloomy expression. "Tell you what," he mused, "I'll ask the doctors if I can get out tomorrow. If I can, meet me at the entrance at Beacon."

Ruby's face brightened at the prospect. "Okay," she exulted, giving Daniel a small peck on the lips, both of them smiling as they felt the familiar pressure. Ruby got up and skipped towards the exit, tear stains on her cheeks but with a smile gracing her lips. She turned around one last time, waving back. "See you tomorrow!" she announced before turning the corner.

If she stayed a bit longer, Ruby would've noticed Daniel's smile morph into a frown, looking deep into thought. "See 'ya," he echoed silently, not moving a muscle.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Over the next two days, Ruby felt something was missing. Or rather, something felt… different. Ever since Daniel got out of the hospital a day before, she always could see some change to him, sometimes subtle but other times screaming at her while she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. Sure, Daniel's promise of meeting her at the entrance of Beacon held true, and later he did take her back to the same diner run by Annabeth, but it all went downhill so quickly.

It started out with small, almost unnoticeable details: only going with a few kisses instead of pressing them on, the gap between them when they ate together, the way he never started anything anymore. Then, there were the more noticeable ones like how the second day transitioned to.

When Ruby leaned in to kiss him during breakfast, he turned away at the last second, letting her lips hit his cheek instead. She pulled away, frowning slightly, but didn't think much of it at the time. Then, the hugs got shorter. Their conversations were cut. As the evening pulled away, Ruby didn't even see Daniel for hours at a time. It shouldn't have been unusual, but it still made her suspicious and uncomfortable. Not to mention that all midterms were over, and most students were already packed up to leave at the end of the semester.

When the third day pulled around, Ruby decided to try and surprise her boyfriend.

After all, it was the last day they would be together for a good few weeks.

Ruby was skipping cheerfully down the halls, hands behind her back as she tried to hide her gift. Eventually, she came to the door she was after and knocked three times, sitting back and waiting for a response.

Daniel finally poked his head out of his room, confused when he saw Ruby standing there. "Ruby? What are you doing here?" he asked.

Ruby took the small bouquet of flowers from behind her back. "Surprise!" she exclaimed with a bright grin, "I thought it would cheer you up!"

Daniel accepted the gift with a confused smile. "Thanks?" he said more as a question. Daniel gestured towards his room, opening the door fully. "Come on in. Try and make yourself at home." He winced at his poor choice of wording.

Ruby skipped into the dimly lit room, taking in her surroundings. She noted the suitcase in the corner, right next to the box of Dust and a backpack. "Oh, you're leaving for winter break?" she asked, sitting on his bed.

Daniel closed the door, gloomily going back to packing. "Yeah," he managed out in a small grunt.

Ruby narrowed her eyes at Daniel's downtrodden expression. "What's wrong?" she implored, "You look like you're not coming back."

Daniel chuckled to himself without humor. " _You don't know the half of it_." "Something like that," he said, biting back his sarcastic retort.

Ruby frowned. "Well, why are you wasting time, moping in your room? You should be trying to make the best of things, right?"

"Right, make the best of things," Daniel echoed, stuffing another vial of Dust into its proper container.

Ruby got up and tugged on Daniel's arm lightly, a small and sad smile plastered on her face. "So, come on! Enjoy some time with your girlfriend!" she suggested.

" _This is probably my only chance_." "Ruby," Daniel started hesitantly, "About that…"

Ruby looked at Daniel, concern replacing her normally upbeat mood. "What's the matter?" she asked, "You still want to hang out with me, right?"

Daniel sighed, steeling himself. "I think it's best if you left me now," he said, setting his jaw.

Ruby felt downtrodden, slowly backing away from him. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I'm sorry for overstepping a line. I'll come back tomorrow."

Daniel shot up from where he previously knelt, reaching out towards Ruby. "No, wait, Ruby!" Daniel called out just before she was placing her hand on the doorknob. She looked back with hope in her eyes. "That's not what I meant. I think… I think we should stop seeing each other."

Ruby's hope drained as quickly as it came. "W-what do you mean?" she sputtered, walking back towards Daniel.

Daniel looked Ruby dead in the eyes and said, "I think we should break up."

"No."

Daniel looked up at Ruby, completely bewildered. "What?"

"No," she echoed, a horrified expression enveloping her face, "No, absolutely not. Why would you even suggest that?"

Daniel stared at her, at a loss of words. "Because it's the right thing to do," he eventually managed out, his voice quivering slightly.

Ruby's heart clenched. "Don't say that," she whispered. Then, in a louder, more commanding tone, she said, "Don't you dare say that! You don't mean it!"

Daniel lowered his head, not meeting Ruby's pleading gaze. "I do," he admitted, "You shouldn't see me, and I shouldn't see you."

Salty tears started to form in Ruby's eyes. "No you don't," she argued, trying as hard as she could to put all her emotions into her voice, "You don't want to leave." When Daniel gave no answer, she asked, her voice barely a whisper, "Is it something I did?"

"No," Daniel denied immediately, giving Ruby some relief. "Yes," Daniel said, shaking his head and making Ruby shake in fear and grief. "Maybe? I… it's complicated," Daniel eventually said, rubbing his temples with his thumb and index finger.

"How is it complicated?" Ruby exasperated, throwing her arms out to emphasize her point. "It's either I said something or I didn't! Please," her tone became worried and pleading, "we can talk through this."

"No, we can't," Daniel shot down immediately.

Ruby shook her head, trying her hardest to deny what was happening. "No," she said, steeling herself and her voice, "You're not leaving. I'm not allowing you to leave my side."

Daniel shook his head, still not meeting Ruby's eyes as he stared at the carpet. "It won't work out," he argued weakly.

"It wasn't ever supposed to work out," Ruby pointed out stubbornly, "I'm the weird, introverted girl and you're a guy that makes extremely rash decisions at times. By all means, this shouldn't have worked out. But we made it work. And we'll keep making it work."

"You're so freaking childish!" Daniel exploded, "Stop thinking nothing's changed since we started dating! The more I started to get to know you, the more I hated you!" _Lies_ , he mentally chided himself, "You try and act without a care in the world. Well, guess what, it gets so old, stupid, and childish!" _Lies_ , "There's not a thing you can take seriously, not even our relationship!" _Lies_ , "You're the worst person I could ever be matched up with!" _Lies_.

 _Smack_.

Daniel's head snapped back as his hand shot up, gingerly holding his jaw in shock. "Don't say that," Ruby said in barely a whisper, venom slightly creeping in her voice. Her hand was outstretched from the follow-through of the slap, slowly numbing in pain. "Don't say that," Ruby repeated, "You don't mean any of it."

Daniel laughed mockingly as he stared at his girlfriend. " _No,_ " he thought, " _Acquaintance_." "Surprise, surprise," he mocked in a dark tone, "I did. I meant every word." He leaned in close so he was inches away from Ruby's face, his breath waving over Ruby's face. "Every. Single. Word," he snarled cruelly.

 _Smack_.

Daniel winced as Ruby's palmed found its way towards the exact same spot she slapped before. "I don't give a damn," Ruby snapped, "I'm not letting go of the person that kept me fighting. I don't care about what you think, about what my team thinks, or about what anyone in this world thinks. If I choose to date you, that's my choice." Tears were now streaming from Ruby's face as she sniffled slightly.

Daniel smiled cruelly. "You know," he started, ready to drop his last bombshell, "I never really loved you." _Lies_ , "You were just a filler."

Ruby stared at Daniel, not knowing if she truly knew the person that stood in front of her. "W-what?" she stammered.

"You heard me!" Daniel stated, lips curling into a snarl while trying to smile at Ruby's expression, "I never loved you. I just started to hang out with you to fill the hole in my heart. My heart was never really for you- it was for Echo."

Something in Ruby snapped. Her blood chilled as her heart stopped working, her breath hitching in her throat. "No," she said in barely a whisper.

"Oh, yes, _Rubes_ ," Daniel spat her nickname mockingly. He shrugged indifferently like he just told her his favorite food wasn't pasta. "I'm actually surprised it took you this long to notice," he jeered, "Well, it's over now."

Ruby stared at Daniel, a disgusted look on her face. "You're an ass, you know that?" she scoffed, tears now starting to form a puddle as she wiped some snot away with her sleeve.

Daniel smirked. "And you've been kissing one for the past month or so," he shot back, "How does it feel?"

Ruby huffed in disbelief, turning around and quickly running down the halls, her sobs echoing off the walls. When he knew she wasn't coming back, at least for a while, Daniel collapsed, staring at the ground with a blank expression. _I just did that_.

 _Shut up. It was for the best._

"For the best, right," Daniel mumbled, mechanically getting up and repacking. "It was for the best," he repeated his mantra.

 _It was for the best_. An image of Ruby laughing for the first time in Daniel's memory appeared, watching a flashback of his time reminiscing under the cherry blossom.

 _For the best_. He remembered how hopeful Ruby was when he made his promise. His promise to never leave her while she was dying.

 _For the best_. Daniel couldn't get the image of Ruby's heartbroken face from just moments ago.

 _For the best._

 _But for the best of whom?_

"I'm so sorry, Ruby," Daniel whispered to himself, eventually giving in and shedding a lone tear, "It's for your own sake." The floodgates broke, and Daniel collapsed into heartbroken sobs.

Just a few floors below him, Ruby sat on her bed, broken. A fractured heart, a mind in turmoil, and a body that refused to move. Ruby was locked in as a prisoner of her own body. "Why?" she asked herself, sobbing into her knees, "What did I do?" She continued to hug her knees, feeling a small clatter where her neck was. She pulled her legs away slightly, reaching down and pulling the necklace into view. Ruby choked back another sniffle as she unclasped the beautiful red and silver jewelry, throwing it roughly against the opposite wall. In an instant, her face streamed with tears again, a blanket being used to try and dry up her cheeks.

 _Why would you do this to me, Daniel?_

 _It's for your own good. Your own good. Your own good…_

 **AN: Wow... um... yeah, I did that. Ok, I'm honestly a bit sorry for this chapter. I started reading the Kite Runner recently, and I saw a few similarities from the very first chapters with this one. That... that just makes me feel happy yet conflicted. So, I'm sorry but deal with it.**

 **I tried to push away most cliches from my story for obvious reasons. But I had to go with the betrayal cliche because it was one of those things that can be extremely amazing if it's written correctly (hope I'm one of them).**

 **I'm rambling again...**

 **Reviews!**

 **Apparently, I wasn't able to fool anyone on Holly's big reveal since ThatGreenDooredBookshop, Boyy2k, and G3r1k all weren't exactly surprised. Shame, I thought I did better...**

 **G3r1k: Yeah, now you're probably crying over both. Yay, tragedy stories!**

 **Boyy2k: If it ain't perfect, make it. There's my counter response. But still, thanks for the support!**

 **TheGreenDooredBookshop: ...Ok, you should probably not go that into the torture zones that is... whatever you wrote (I'm not repeating it for obvious reasons). I'm most definitely not going to torture Holly to get her killed. At least, not more than Cinder has. Also, she isn't more of a traitor as a misguided individual. You wouldn't call Luke Castellan a bad guy, but you would definitely call Kronos one. Emerald's not going to have that happen to her, but it's close. Mercury... you went straight Achilles there. Never go straight Achilles. Thanks for the review, but that's a bit... disturbing...**

 **Estella Hughes (Chapter 3): YESSSS. I DID IT. SOMEONE CRIED OVER THE INTERNET BECAUSE OF WORDS I WROTE. YAY! But seriously, thanks for taking the time to read my stuff, even if it makes you sad.**

 **CEREBUS77: I dunno, what does Daniel not have crap on?**

 **And that's about all I have in terms of reviews.**

 **I actually had this chapter planned out since the beginning, right with the cancer chapter and the last 2 chapters. So I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.**

 **Also, I'm going to put up another poll. Let's see if you understand what's going to happen just based on the question.**

 **"Who do you like more: Blake or Weiss?"**

 **A few notes really quickly:**

 **Zuri is white in Basque.**

 **Songs I listened to while writing this: Undertones by M. Bulteau, Shelter and Sad Machine by Porter Robinson, the entire Hamilton soundtrack, Breakeven, and stuff from Jeff Williams. Also, if any of you listen to the8bitdrummer on Twitch, hello!**

 **Well, that's all I have left.**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	22. Chapter 20: Aftermath

" _W4W: I think that love is one of the most powerful feelings in the world. Right up there with hatred. And the line between hatred and love is so thin that it's easy to cross. It's easy to dance upon the fine line between love and hate. One minute you stare at someone in disgust and the next you're wishing they would smile at you just for once. People do crazy things for love. They sacrifice themselves for love. Love is powerful. Love is beautiful. Love is selfless. Love is fire. It consumes, it breathes. So love more than hate because hatred leaves to darkness but Love leads to light."_

- _Heart by Heart_ by Luna-Incendia14 ( **AN: Seriously, if you haven't read this story, do it now. Read it. It's so freaking amazing, I literally can't describe it with my own words. Just read it.** )

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no ownership over RWBY. At least, not yet… (Or ever, for that matter).**

 **Disclaimer 2: Be ready for another angst chapter. Sorry to throw so many your guys' way, but it was all already set up, and I didn't have a good way to insert in some fluff between these chapters.**

Chapter 20: Aftermath

Junior's club was completely packed tonight. Not an inch of the glowing dance floor could be seen through the mass of bodies, the dozens of seats and tables were filled with all of Vale's partiers, and the bar was starting to overflow, tens of people asking for the poor bartender's attention all at once. And Junior? He was sitting at one of the corner booths, head on one of his hands while surveying the area. From a distance, he looked as bored as someone in a nightclub could be. But tonight, business was talking.

Not his money-making hell of a job as a manager. As one of Vale's most informed man on the street, if not _the_ most. Anything happens, a person blows his nose, a guy got fired from his dream job, to even the stealthiest and most cautious criminals' plans and locations: Junior knew the most. No one could argue or would even tried to argue, given his reputation as someone that didn't take crap from anyone or anything. If there was word on the street, you'd bet that Junior was the one listening to it, if he wasn't already telling it.

Junior glanced down at his wrist where a silver watch dangled. "Eight minutes late," he said to himself, looking back up while drumming his fingers against the table.

As he continued to search for his buyer, Junior noticed the doors to the club open. One of his employees looked around, spotting Junior in the corner of the club. The man turned to someone out of view, telling him or her (shouting, Junior presumed, over the thunderous music) something Junior couldn't make out.

A second later, a hooded figure came into view. Hooded figures coming into Junior's club wasn't a rarity- far from it, since most of his buyers were some pretty shady people. This one, though… this one was a bit more mysterious. The guy contacted him over a payphone (Junior didn't realize Vale still had any), giving Junior no chance to try and trace the call. All this buyer talked about was what he requested: info on someone called 'The Queen' and a Holly Gotzon. His only response when Junior asked him how he knew about his business was, "Vale's Underground only points to one source of information being reliant."

Not fazed by the unknown buyer's response, Junior jotted down a few notes to his request before hanging up, telling the caller to come around his club at 10. Junior had a couple of hours to scrounge up all the information he had on these two people, going through about three cigars as he did so.

Now, here he was. Meeting with his buyer. Even with his experience, Junior didn't think there was anyone as dedicated to keeping his or her identity a secret as much as this guy. Hell, he could barely tell the guy's gender because of how his voice sounded and the style of clothes he wore. Long, black and red hooded cape, with what sounded like metal-toed boots from the clanking against the floor. The mysterious figure sat down at the opposite end of the table, his head bowed to keep the shadows concealing his face. "You're late," Junior remarked.

"Ran into some issues," the man said in a surprisingly young voice. "Where's the information?"

Junior picked a file from the space next to him, holding it like an oversized credit card. The guy leaned over the table, stretching out a lightly tanned hand towards Junior. Junior pulled away, putting the file down. "Not how it works, kid," he chided, "Money first, then information. 1000 Lien for all the digging you made me do."

The man sighed, grumbling under his breath as his hands rummaged for something beneath the cloak. After a little while, a hand peaked out from the folds of the fabric, a wad of cash grasped in a fist. He dropped the cash in Junior's outstretched hand, waiting as Junior counted the bills.

Satisfied, Junior slid the file across the laminated table while the money went straight to his pocket. His buyer caught the folder just as it neared the edge, opening it and perusing the contents. In it were half a dozen pictures, all of them taken about nine years ago, showcasing a small blonde child with her family. One of them showed the same girl laying in a pool of her blood, captured from what looked like an operating table. Besides the photos were a few printed copies of conversations and a couple papers filled with Junior's handwriting.

"The Gotzon girl's a ghost," Junior said while his buyer took off his hood to get a better look at the folder's content. Junior made note of the heterochromatic blue and red eyes, as well as the smooth the spiky black hair, before going on, "Daughter of a former Mistralian official, now dead. The mom died a few days ago, so there goes that link. Dad's dead, and the brother's in Beacon. Now the interesting one," Junior leaned over to take a better look at his papers, "is your so called 'Queen'. Apparently connected to the White Fang, no idea how, Roman Torchwick, now in prison aboard an Atlas ship- that guy's a lost cause for you, with about half a dozen other connections with some of the biggest and most well-known militias, not to mention the three assassins and a thief she has working for her. This 'Queen' has no name, at least none that I could find. And apparently, she's known globally through the underground, but no one knows squat shit about this lady. The woman's been in dozens of raids and major events, but no one can really tell you how she's connected. Only how she funded or coaxed people into doing some things."

Junior took another puff of his cigar. "I honestly don't tell this to most people, but just give this up. From my best judgment, you're not finding her. Even if by some cosmic means you do, you're never going to take her down."

The black-haired teen flipped a few more pages before answering. "Your information's a bit wrong." Junior cocked an eyebrow, leaning forward in his seat with an arm on the table. "Holly's not dead," the teen corrected, "Almost all the information you 'dug up' is useless to me. But the 'Queen'… now that's something I could try and use."

The boy looked up from the file, opening his mouth to say something else before something caught his attention. Bursting through the doors was a chillingly familiar face. As he continued to stare, the girl turned her head, locking eyes with her lilac ones. "Shit," the boy cursed, gathering the contents of the folder together hastily.

Junior followed his buyer's gaze, paling slightly as he put a hand on his face. "Not again," club owner grumbled.

The blue and red-eyed teen tucked the folder underneath his cloak, looking up at Junior. "Is there a back exit?" he asked, panic flooding his eyes.

Junior jerked his thumb towards the back of the club. "Down the hall close to the bar," he informed, "The door at the end of the hallway is your ticket out."

The boy nodded, shooting out of his seat as someone else stormed over. "Here we go again," Junior grumbled, putting on a seemingly indifferent look. "Blondey," he barked, "What are you doing here?"

Yang stood a foot away from Junior, fists clenched with the same fire burning in her eyes like an enraged bull. "What the hell did you give that guy?" she growled.

Junior scoffed as he took another puff from his cigar. "Sorry, girl," he said with a bored expression, "My client's business is their business. It's against our code."

"What code?" Yang snapped.

"The Informant's Code," Junior replied with an eye roll, "You don't ask who or why. You get the information, hand it off, and get the money. Simple as that."

"Shady enough," Yang commented.

"I run a nightclub," Junior stated, "You think I care if people think I'm shady or not?"

"Where'd the guy go?" Yang questioned, her imaginary patience running out since her actual patience ran out days ago.

"Beats me," Junior said nonchalantly, "Told him where the exit was, that's about it. Like I said: Informant's Code."

Yang groaned in exasperation, turning around. "You're useless," she proclaimed.

"A bit late on the draw there, Blondey," Junior remarked, "The guy just called me that a minute before you came."

Either because she didn't care or didn't hear him, Yang ignored Junior all together and sprinted through the crowded room, shoving people left and right that were in her way. More than one drink was spilled, and strings of profanity were thrown around. Junior went back to surveying his club, trying to forget his conversation. "Every time," he grumbled as he raised the cigar back to his mouth, "The girl's going to be the end of my business, I swear."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Daniel burst into an old warehouse at the edge of Vale, turning around and locking the door behind him with a spare piece of chain. Just to be safe, he also jammed a chair under the knob. "Like that'll hold off Yang," he scoffed himself. Daniel sighed as he looked back, leaning his back against the door.

This was his life for the past five days. A barely functional bathroom was shoved in the corner, caked in grime and dust and about every possible thing disgusting he could imagine. It took a long morning just to make it useable and tolerable to Daniel, scrubbing away chunks of mold since there was no way in hell Daniel would try and remove them with his Semblance and bare hands.

The rest of where he stayed was a bit better than the bathroom. A mattress was set up near the back of the room with a thin blanket and a bare pillow while his backpack and luggage full of Dust sat next to his bed. In the other back corner was an old table, almost collapsing under its own weight before Daniel made a few improvements to it. Now, it was where he did most of his experimenting and planning, a bulletin board full of pictures and notes hanging over it like from an old-fashioned detective movie. Nearest to the door was a simple sparring dummy Daniel managed to scrape together with random bits and pieces scattered around. A wooden sword rested in one of its hands while the other had a sickle, mounted on a rotatable body so if one arm was pushed back, the other would whirl around.

Daniel stumbled over to his bed, collapsing on it with an exhausted breath. " _How the hell did I end up like this?_ " he asked himself. The first day away from Beacon made him realize every mistake he made after the date with Ruby. " _It seemed like a lifetime ago,_ " he chuckled emptily. It took him an entire day to realize his mistakes and realize he wasn't coming back from them. So, for the next few days after that, he progressed. Whenever he wasn't training, eating, or sleeping, he was progressing. Dozens of failed Dust experiments covered the tables while he tried to mix the types together into different effects. Some were easy, like his flashbang, but others took hours of frustration to get the correct formula down. If he wasn't doing that, he was researching. Libraries, police, even his most recent and shadiest place, Junior, he read up on anything he could use, anything he could exploit over the 'Queen' and her band of revolutionaries.

Five exhausting days. No rest besides the irregular sleep he got whenever his body couldn't go on, no breaks except for when his stomach commanded him to go out for food. Five exhausting days later, and minimal progress. Daniel wanted to scream into his pillow but couldn't even managed to muster the energy to do even that. Instead, he threw the file onto his backpack, not caring if the contents poured out or not. Feeling the effects of staying up for 20 hours a day, every day, he snapped out of conscious in an instant, too tired to even try and deny it to himself.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

 _Daniel was standing in blackness. Just standing. Or was he laying? He didn't know nor did he care since it finally gave him peace. Daniel just closed his eyes, embracing the darkness._

 _"Are you satisfied?" a voice asked beside him._

 _Daniel whipped around, suddenly alert of the presence behind him. He knew instantly who it was, but couldn't fathom the hatred behind those silver piercing eyes._

 _"Are you satisfied?" Ruby asked again in a low growl. It was Ruby, but at the same time, it wasn't Ruby. Her posture was too rigid. Skin too pale. Too much anger in her expression. Eyes too dull. Like Daniel was staring into a watered-down image of his former girlfriend._

 _"Ruby," he breathed, taking a step closer, "Look, let me explain-."_

 _"Oh, I think you explained enough," the false Ruby interrupted, "No, it's completely fine. I understand."_

 _"Ruby, please," Daniel begged, reaching out as Ruby took a step back._

 _"No," Ruby stared at Daniel with dead eyes, the usual shine in them replaced by cold fire, "You've done enough."_

 _"No, Ruby, please," Daniel pled on the brink of tears, "I didn't mean to hurt you!"_

 _"Oh, you didn't," Ruby assured. Daniel's heart soared before plummeting at her next words. "You broke me. I thought I could trust you. I thought we had something." She scoffed, "Guess how wrong I was," turning around and walking back into the darkness._

 _"Ruby, wait," Daniel wailed, starting to run after her._

 _"DON'T," Ruby screamed, turning around with renewed fury. Daniel stopped in his tracks, his breath keeping pace with his feet. "You've done enough to me! To my team!" The false Ruby took a few deep breaths. "I hate you!" she screeched, winding back her scythe she pulled out without Daniel noticing._

 _Daniel raised his arms to block his face, bracing and shutting his eyes tight. When the strike didn't come, he peeked out from behind his forearms, noticing a distinct lack of red. "Ruby?" he spoke with labored breath, eyes darting around the black sea. Daniel turned sharply, spotting a red cape with its hood up. "Ruby," Daniel begged, running towards it, "I'm so-."_

 _The figure turned around, taking the hood down so Daniel could see her face. Rather, her mask. The 'Queen' looked back at Daniel mockingly, tilting her head like she was considering something. "Oh, poor you," Daniel could hear her say in the same condescending tone, "looks like our little crow lost its wings." The smile on her mask seemed to grow, stretching from ear to ear and going beyond. "And looks like he's lost a lot more."_

 _ **ACTUAL LINE BREAK. REPLACE**_

Daniel woke up with a start, finding himself curled into a ball while clutching his knees tightly to his chest. He didn't care about that, only the throbbing in his head and the boiling in his stomach. Groggily, Daniel scrambled out of bed, rushing to the nearby bathroom. Milliseconds later, he retched into the rusty toilet water, propping himself by the seat. Daniel groaned, wiping acidic ooze from the corners of his mouth. He sat back on the disgusting floor, panting while clutching his head. "I'm such an idiot," he muttered to himself, "Why did I do that?"

"Why _did_ you do it?" a voice behind Daniel sounded, chillingly familiar.

Daniel closed his eyes, preparing for his fate. "Hey, Yang," he greeted offhandedly.

Daniel felt himself being jerked to his feet by his collar. When he finally opened his eyes, he was staring directly into Yang's burning red eyes. "Probably don't want to get vomit on your clothes, do you?"

Yang didn't reply as she dragged him out of the bathroom, meeting no resistance from Daniel. She threw him roughly against the wall, watching him crumble against it and shakingly stumbling to his feet. Even from the admittedly weak throw by Yang, he was already panting hard, leaning against the wall in support. Daniel tilted his head, watching placidly as Yang clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. "I'm sorry," he whispered with a small smile, knowing it would do nothing to calm her.

 _ **ACTUAL LINE BREAK. REPLACE**_

Five days.

Five days of confusion, depression, anger.

Five days ago, Yang's team all but fell apart. Weiss went back to Atlas for the winter, not really promising she herself would return if Daniel ever came back (or even cared if he did). Blake would close off at the mere mentioning of his name, feeling as if it was her fault he got angry enough to leave his team behind.

Five days ago, Yang watched as her sister's heart broke into fragments.

 _ **ACTUAL LINE BREAK. REPLACE**_

 _"Hey, Ruby," Yang called out from the hallway, muffled by the closed door, "I brought your favorite- chocolate strawberries!" Yang opened the door slowly, her relationship with Ruby just renewed after their brief split from the month-long lie. "Ruby?" Yang called out again, looking around the room._

 _She spotted a huddled mass on top of Ruby's bed, covered by a blanket. Even though it was muffled by layers of cloth and a pillow, Yang could her Ruby's wailing as clear as day. "Ruby?" Yang called gently, setting the plate of strawberries down on a desk quickly and scurrying up to sit next to the bundle. "Ruby, what's wrong?"_

 _Ruby finally poked her head out of the sheets, her eyes puffy and bloodshot after minutes of crying. "Yang?" she sniffled._

 _Yang spread her arms out, softly saying, "Come here." Ruby obliged instantly, crashing into Yang's chest and renewing her bawls. Yang just wrapped her arms around the girl, soothingly patting her back. "Who did this to you?" Yang asked, "Was someone teasing you about your sickness again?"_

 _Ruby shook her head. "Reading another sad story?" Yang offered. Again, another shake of her sister's head. "Then what is it?"_

 _"Daniel," Ruby whispered, finally stopping sobbing as hiccups wracked her body._

 _Yang froze at that single word, her arms stopped tracing comforting circles in Ruby's back. "Daniel?" Yang echoed, "He did this?"_

 _She felt Ruby nod in her chest, her arms tightening around Yang's body. "He," Ruby struggled out, "He left me."_

 _"I'm sure he just meant he needed a bit of breathing room," Yang tried to assure._

 _"No!" Ruby cried, "He- he broke up with me!" And with that, the floodgates opened again, staining Yang's jacket with tears._

 _While Ruby continued to cry into Yang's top, the blonde shook with barely-contained fury, her eyes glowing a vivid red for a few seconds. Then, another look at the vulnerable sister made her expression soften as she stroked Ruby's hair. After another depressing few minutes, Ruby grew too tired from the constant crying, a small frown on her face as she passed out from crying._

 _Gently, Yang laid Ruby down on her bed, snaking her way out of Ruby's arms and replacing her spot with another pillow. Once she knew Ruby wouldn't wake up, she tip-toed out of the room, looking back one last time at the mentally exhausted teen. Closing the door behind her, Yang stormed down the hall, eyes blazing along with her hair._

 _As she neared the stairs, Jaune rounded the corner, a scroll in hand as he read another passage from an online textbook. He looked up and noticed Yang coming towards him. Jaune started to raise his hand in a greeting, opening his mouth with a bright smile on his face, before it all faltered, making note of Yang's aura of malice. He pressed himself against the wall to get out of her warpath, unable to take his eyes away from the attempting-murderer._

 _Yang marched up the stairs and through the halls, eventually ending at Daniel's door. She started pounding away at the poor slab of wood, but it swung open on the first knock. Stepping inside, Yang surveyed the room to interrogate Daniel, but the faunus was nowhere in sight. Most of Daniel's Dust in their cases were gone, and Yang revealed that a few missing pieces of clothing were missing from Daniel's closet- enough for a week or so._

 _With an animalistic roar, Yang slammed her fist against a wall, breaking the weak plaster with cracks webbing out underneath her hand. With her head bowed, she finally noticed the small slip of paper under her feet, right next to the door. She picked it off the sole of her shoe, unfolding it to find Daniel's scribbled handwriting: "_ Tell Ruby I'm sorry. It was for her own good. _"_

 _Yang crushed the slip in her fist, her jaw trembling in anger. "For her own good?" Yang echoed to herself, "You're a fucking idiot, Daniel."_

 _ **ACTUAL LINE BREAK. REPLACE**_

Now, here she was, finally face to face with the boy that broke her sister's heart. From Ruby's side of the story, Daniel was ruthless with his break up, and he had the nerve to try and say "I'm sorry"?

"I'm sorry?" Yang repeated, closing the distance between them, "I'm sorry?! Is that supposed to make me feel better because you're doing a pretty shit job at that."

Daniel finally staggered away from the wall. "You're probably here for revenge, aren't you?" When he received a malicious glare in return, he spread his arms open, in a sort of surrendering fashion. "I won't hold you back," he whispered, closing his eyes.

Happy to comply, Yang reeled her fist back, shooting it forward into Daniel's chest. He hunched forward, cradling his chest, and made it perfect for a follow-up elbow to his face. Then, it was his stomach that started bruising and aching. Then his legs, then the arms, then the back.

Minutes ticked by while Yang continued wailing on Daniel, the latter not doing anything to stop her. Yang eventually stopped, catching her breath as she surveyed the damage done. Even she had to wince at the state of her victim- bruises everywhere, blood dripping from his nose, and his curled-up form on the floor like a scared child. Yang turned Daniel over, widening her eyes in shock when she saw blood trickling from Daniel's mouth. "How the hell haven't you healed that yet?" she questioned, eyeing Daniel with slight regret, "I don't think I punched that hard."

Daniel spat out a mouthful of blood on the floor. "I would heal it," he started with labored breath, "if I wanted to use my Aura." He hissed suddenly, feeling Yang prod a particularly sensitive bruise. "I deserved this," he muttered just loud enough for Yang to hear, "I deserved every bit of it."

Yang's glare softened ever-so-slightly. Here she was, previously preparing to beat the boy that broke her sister's heart within an inch of his life. Instead of the boy, though, she found a broken man. A masochist full of regret who was killing himself slowly. Someone that had lost almost all will to live, being driven by vengeance alone. All in the course of a few days.

How could she have the heart to be another one of his problems?

Yang sighed as she put a hand to her mouth, thinking of what to do next. After a few seconds of contemplation, she bent down, picking up Daniel with a grunt and throwing him on the bed. Even the small drop was enough to make Daniel hiss again in pain, holding his sides while clamping his eyes shut. "Why?" Daniel asked a few moments later, "Why are you trying to help me? I deserve the pain."

Yang huffed. "You're an idiot and an ass, and you broke Ruby's heart," she listed, "but that doesn't mean I don't have a heart."

Daniel painfully sat up, leaning his back against the wall. "If you did have a heart," Daniel stated, "you would've hit me more."

"Maybe." Yang sighed as she pulled a chair up from the table, sitting face to face with Daniel. "I came here for answers," she said, "Why did you break Ruby's heart?"

Daniel was silent for minutes, pulling his head back and sighing as he closed his eyes. "It was for her own good," he whispered.

"Bullshit." Daniel peeked under his eyelids to see Yang glaring at him again. "Forget that 'for her own good' crap," Yang stated, "because that's all wrong."

Daniel closed his eyes again. "She's better off without me," he muttered, "I couldn't give her what she wanted, and she couldn't give me what I needed."

"Which is?" Yang inquired. She was met with silence. "Nice job," she remarked with a shake of her head, "You just broke up everything Ruby loved. The team's gone to shit ever since you left. Hope you're proud of what you've done."

"You think I'm proud of it?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

"Obviously," Yang said, "Why else would you break up with my sis like that?"

"You think it was easy for me?!" Daniel exploded. As soon as those words came out, he grimaced while clenching one of his sides. "You think it was easy for me," he mumbled, "breaking up with Ruby? She was the one that saved myself. I probably would've been gone right after you guys found me at the Breach. I had nothing else to live for, nothing else to turn to except my mom. And then Ruby comes into my life and makes everything better.

"Now, my mom's gone. And I just watched as the love of my life hates me for being myself." Daniel was now glaring at the open-mouthed Yang. "So don't you dare say it was pride that made me do it," he spat, "I was the one that watched Ruby's heart get shattered, and I have the 'luxury' of knowing it was all my fault that it all happened."

Yang was now softly observing Daniel. "What happened that night?" she asked gently.

"I broke up with her," Daniel answered almost mechanically.

"Not that night," Yang clarified, "What happened the night your mom died?"

Daniel bowed his head. "I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled.

"Tough luck," Yang spoke with a scoff, "Now talk."

So, he did. He explained everything. The mysterious assailants, the "bargaining" for their lives, how Hazel gave her life up for Daniel, everything. As he continued on, he remembered the expression "like an elephant was lifted from his chest". That wasn't always true. As he explained his story, it felt like another person tossed another elephant onto his chest, crushing him with the same memories and even more 'What if's.

When he ended, Yang was almost in tears. She wiped away a few as she looked at her feet with new interest. "You're lucky that Ruby still needs you," she said after a few moments.

Daniel sat up a little straighter. "What?"

Yang sighed as she looked up. "Ruby's dying."

"Yeah, I know," Daniel reminded, "She has cancer."

"You don't understand," Yang stressed, "She's dying. Ruby was getting better- the doctors said she would probably make a recovery in a few more months. But now," Yang had to stop as she tried to gather her emotions. It didn't work out as she cried into her hands. "She barely talks to anyone," Yang continued with a small crackle in her voice, "I can barely get her to say a word to me on a good day. Ruby's gotten so much more violent- she snaps at any stranger that comes close to her. And she won't eat. We had to start giving her food when she was delirious after treatments.

"We can't take her out of the hospital anymore," Yang's voice cracking and halting with hiccups, "Ruby's lost the will to live. She's killing herself," Yang sobbed, "She needs you back."

Daniel just sat there, stunned, as he watched Yang break down. He crawled over to the edge of the bed, sitting right in front of Yang. Daniel hesitantly reached out, taking a moment before wrapping his arms around Yang. Yang continued to cry as Daniel tried to comfort her the best he could, wincing as Yang's arms wrapped around Daniel's injured neck. "It hurts," she quavered, "It hurts too much."

Daniel started tearing up at the image Yang presented him with. "I messed up," he mumbled, "I did this to all of you." Silence enveloped the two of them for a while. "How do I fix this?" he asked.

Yang wiped away a few tears on Daniel's shoulder. "I don't know," she admitted, "But you better figure out quick. I can't see Ruby…" And her sobs started again.

The two of them sat there for another few minutes, just holding each other. Eventually, Yang pulled away, her eyes bloodshot but no longer donning the same fire in them. "I still hate your guts," she mumbled.

Daniel scoffed at the ground, looking down in shame. "I would've been worried if you didn't," he stated. He let out a deep sigh as he flopped back gently onto the mattress. "I'm going to have to see Ruby again soon, aren't I?" he said more as a statement.

Yang stood up, trying to brush away the last of the tears while nodding. "Better make it quick," she demanded, "But not right now. I don't think she'll appreciate you arriving as a mess."

"No help from you," Daniel tried to shoot back before letting out a small yelp as he rolled onto yet another one of his many bruises.

Yang remained silent as she walked back towards the exit. When she was halfway, she stopped. "Just help Ruby," Yang pled before closing the remainder of the distance, letting the door close with a small click.

Daniel watched Yang leave, his eyes fixated on the retreating blonde with a blank stare. When the door closed, he put a hand to his face, finally letting his own tears fall. "I'm so sorry," he continued his mantra in a whisper.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

It was a nice peaceful morning the following day- crisp fresh air, comfortable silence besides the occasional breeze gently passing by, and the serenity made it perfect. For the average person.

Daniel couldn't enjoy this perfect morning, dreading his visit. He stood right in front of the reception desk for Ruby's hospital, twiddling his thumbs nervously. "Excuse me," he asked the lady at the desk. The blonde-haired woman looked up with green eyes, letting Daniel continue, "Can I ask for Ruby Rose's room number?"

"What's your connection with her?" the woman asked almost mechanically, letting out an almighty yawn as she typed in a few keystrokes.

"I'm…" Daniel stopped and wondered, " _What am I to her now?_ " Boyfriend certainly didn't cut it nor did friend. From Yang's description, he also wasn't someone whom Ruby despised, not that he would try and say that to the nurse. "I was close to her in the past," he eventually told the waiting woman.

The nurse nodded. "Childhood friend?" she inquired.

"You could say that," Daniel replied vaguely.

The nurse squinted at her screen. "Room 451," she said, "Elevators are to the left if you need them."

Daniel smiled kindly as he walked towards the direction the nurse suggested. "Thank you," he called over his shoulder. When he got in one of the elevators, the dread started building up again. It felt… odd, wanting something so badly while also hoping it would never come. Like waiting for a doctor's diagnosis or a test result, but millions of times worse. The doors opened with a small ding as Daniel walked out, making his way down the hall.

After an agonizing minute, he eventually reached room 451. As he reached up to knock on the oak door, Daniel paused. " _It would be so much easier just to leave now,_ " a small voice suggested meekly in the back of his head.

" _No it wouldn't,_ " the stronger conscious said as Daniel knocked on the door three times. A small voice saying "Come in" gave Daniel the strength to reach for the handle and walk in.

On the bed was a sight Daniel wasn't prepared for. It was Ruby, yet it wasn't her- not entirely, at least. It was the same familiar reddish-brown hair and the same body, but Daniel could almost feel the tiredness radiating off of Ruby, something that should've never been able to happen. She was in a blue gown now, her head turned towards the opposite wall to look out the window. "You're up early today, Yan…" Ruby tapered off, finally turning to face her visitor. Her expression turned from one of boredom to horror in a matter of moments. "No," she whispered.

Daniel just stared at the state she was in. Ruby's cheeks had sunken in, making unhealthy dimples that should never have been there. Clumps of hair had fallen out, cutting away her bangs and the hair that fell in front of her eyes. "You're not here," Ruby denied when Daniel focused on her voice, "You can't be here."

Daniel smiled meekly, his eyes betraying his mouth's expression. "Hey, Rubes," he greeted softly.

Ruby started trembling, a wild look in her eyes as she backed away toward the very head of her bed. "You're not allowed to be here," she echoed, taking in deep breaths.

Daniel took a few steps forward. "Look, Ruby," he started, "I'm sorry. Just let me explain-."

"No," Ruby interrupted, "You don't get to do that." She took a few more deep breaths before demanding, "Get out."

"No," Daniel denied, "I'm not leaving until I tell you what I need to."

"You don't get to do that," Ruby's voice started to rise. "You broke my heart, you broke up my friends, and worst of all, you toyed with me. You don't just get to do that. Now, you want to just stroll into my life again?" Now, Ruby was shouting, her voice trembling in anger, "What gives you the right, huh? Why do think you can do this to me? What makes you think you can just say 'sorry' and expect everything to be better? Why-?"

"It's because I loved you!" Daniel exploded. Ruby stopped her ranting, staring at Daniel with a blank expression. "I loved you," Daniel repeated, "and I still do. Please, let me explain."

This is the point in a fairy tale where the princess would jump into her Saving Grace's arms, crying about how much she missed him while everyone rejoices. The sky would turn from stormy to a clear blue one in a matter of seconds while their new life would start instantly, the world a better place.

It was clear to both Daniel and Ruby, though, real life wasn't a fairy tale. And Life made damn sure to emphasize that on both their ends. "Don't say that," Ruby whispered, "You're not allowed to say that. You've already hurt everything I love, but don't say that. You can't say that you love me. Because I know you really don't."

"Ruby, please-."

"Don't lie to me!" Ruby screamed, "Don't try and make things better because you just made it worse! I wish you were dead!"

Daniel just stared at the dying girl, stunned and unresponsive. She curled her knees up to her chest, still huddled at the head of her bead. "Get out," Ruby said in a hushed voice. When Daniel just stood there, refusing to move, Ruby screeched again, "Get out!" A pillow flew through the air, hitting Daniel in the chest. "I hate you!" Ruby screamed, freezing Daniel's blood. Robotically, he turned around, closing the door behind him while slumping against the door.

Daniel cradled his head in his hands, sitting there until he didn't know what time it was. Eventually, he realized Ruby was crying, sobbing loud enough to be heard through the door. "I created my own nightmare," Daniel mumbled. He listened to her heartbroken weeping, desperately wishing he could comfort her.

 **Hey, guys. Fireflame here. So, that's Chapter 20 of Wilting Rose. Needless to say, we took a dark turn. I'll get to the reviews first.**

 **woverine12: Yeah, they were cute. And it was also fun writing the breakup. Yes, you heard right, fun. Heartbreaking, yes, but fun.**

 **ThatGreenDooredBookshop: Yeah, I already got one flame-ish PM from the last chapter. And I was hoping/expecting a few to come my way.**

 **Yeah, I didn't say anything about Cinder, did I? Yeah, that won't happen. I swear. She won't be [expletive] to death. Depending on the ending I want to go with, nothing bad should happen to her that she doesn't deserve.**

 **.awesome: Annabeth is in here because this is my story. I decide what to put in here, and what I say goes. MWAHAHAHAHA (but I really like Annabeth, seriously). And her last name is Jackson. I think it's pretty clear.**

 **Bigbwolf11: Aww, thanks, man! I already told you guys, I'm going on for a little longer. If all goes well, there should be about 7 more chapters in this story. Wow, time flies when you don't realize it. Sorry about your feelings, but at the same time, I'm absolutely not sorry.**

 **Also, I have to give a small shoutout to Mtop70 for the PM. You really made my days when I was reading your feedback. I really expected some more flames than just what you gave me, not the support that you did.**

 **If anyone wants to check out Mtop70's story, do it. "Dead Man Walking", another RWBY OC fanfic that's pretty good as well. Maybe not as good as mine, but I'm a bit biased (*Smug face).**

 **Well, that's all the reviews. Now for the poll!**

 **Blake has 1 vote, and Weiss still has none. I didn't realize people didn't get my underlying tone… Oh well, here's a bit of a better motivation. Let's change what it means to: "Which one survives- Blake or Weiss?" Enjoy voting! YOU GET TO CHOOSE WHO LIVES AND DIES, PICK WISELY. Or… Weiss-ly. (*Crickets chirping)**

 **Also, I'm probably going to throw in a few more characters into the fray in the next few chapters. I'm definitely including Emerald as a POV to go off in the future, and I will bring in Taiyang and Qrow for character development and plot development respectively. Weiss may have a portion of a chapter to herself, but that's still to be seen.**

 **I know I'm gonna have DWBY fight Cinder's team, and I know that DWBY's still basically freshmen in college. So, they're probably not as experienced or strong as Merc or Neo. Don't worry, I've got that covered. You'll see…**

 **And I'm done with my rambling. Thank you so much for your guys' support and everything you guys' have done for this story. I honestly didn't expect** _ **Wilting Rose**_ **to grow as big as it has.**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**

* **Songs I listened to: Lone Digger by Caravan Palace, It's Raining Men: Tombstone remix (don't ask), Shelter by Madeon and Porter Robinson, My Chemical Romance, more Hamilton, Nothing by The Script, more Breakeven, more Porter Robinson, more Madeon, and some stuff from the Dark Souls 2 Soundtrack.**


	23. Chapter 21: Confessions and Admissions

**And welcome back to a new addition to Wilting Rose! Will there be more drama (yes)? More action (depends on your definition)? Find out, by READING. Yay!**

 **WHOO! 28.5k views! We're celebrating today/night!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or anything like that. If I did, you wouldn't be reading this, you would be watching this as the new Season 3 instead of… Pyrrha and Penny's… yeah…**

" _Memories can control us, they haunt us. But you have to learn to let go of the past. Let go of the Memories and just live. You can't fully live if you're living in the past. Man wasn't born to live in the past, but in the present."_

-Heart By Heart by Luna-Incendia14 **(Seriously, READ IT. IT'S THAT GOOD.)**

Chapter 21: Confessions and Admissions

Yang strolled up a hill on the outskirts of Vale, a yellow scarf around her neck while also exchanging her shorts for a warmer pair of black pants. It was about midday, but the frost-bitten winter winds still bit at Yang's skin, making her rub her arms for warmth. Getting to the top, Yang sat down at the base of a familiar cherry blossom, the ground littered with small petals. She peacefully picked one up from the ground, turning it between her fingers as she noticed it starting to turn from its beautiful vivid pinkish-white to a dull brown.

A pair of footsteps drove Yang out of her trance, turning her head slightly to see the newcomer walking up the hill. Daniel had his hood up, hiding most of his face while the rest of his cloak covered his body. With a small sigh, he plopped down near Yang, his back against the tree. "I need your help," he started.

"Obviously," Yang huffed slightly, "Why else would you call me in the morning?"

"Look, do you want me to help Ruby or not?" Daniel snapped back. A hushed silence fell over the two of them. "Sorry," Daniel apologized with a sigh, "It's just so frustrating."

"Ruby?"

"No," Daniel said offhandedly, "Well, yes… I mean… it's a lot of things." He paused as he decided how to go on. "I went to see Ruby today."

Yang sat up straight, her interest piqued. She watched as Daniel fiddled with the stiff, frozen grass beneath him. "And?" she inquired.

Daniel huffed slightly, sinking lower into the frozen earth. "How do you think it went?" he asked, "She hates me."

"She's being irrational," Yang tried to argue, "Ruby needs you, I know it."

"No, she's being completely understandable," Daniel corrected, "I broke her heart, I destroyed her trust, and now it looks like I'm trying to crawl back to her." Daniel scoffed as he reached in his pocket. "Guess this is what I deserve- hurting the person I wanted to protect."

"You're being an idiot," Yang chided lightly.

"I'm being rational," he shot back.

"The rational part of you would want to see Ruby get better and for you to have a better relationship."

"Fine, I'm being realistic. Are you happy now?"

"Oh, yeah," Yang sassed, "I'm freaking _splendid_ , thanks. It's not like I'm worried about my sister's health, my team's chance of breaking up, and my friend's mental health." She threw up her hands in exasperation,

Daniel remained silent as he tried to reign back on his retort. "I need you to convince Ruby to talk to me again," Daniel asked, "That's all I'm asking for."

"Easier said than done," Yang pointed out.

"Which is why I need help," Daniel concluded, "Blake's not going to help, and Weiss would probably try and kill me the first chance she gets."

"And you're not afraid of what I might do?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm trying to help Ruby," Daniel reasoned, "You'd do anything to keep your sister safe- I know how it goes." Daniel let out a deep breath, his breath visible in the cold air. "I just need to get Ruby to talk to me for five minutes. That's all I need from you."

Yang looked at the side of Daniel's head with a blank expression. Just as Daniel was starting to get nervous, she spoke, "I can probably get her out of the hospital for an hour at most." Daniel let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "But you're going to have to wait until Weiss comes back."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at her request. "Why?"

"It's better you explain it to the whole team," Yang explained. She noticed Daniel take another deep breath, his breath staining the air with white vapor. She narrowed her eyes. "Hang on…"

Daniel turned to face her, letting the hood fall from his face. "Hmm?" he inquired.

Yang put a hand to her face, shaking her head. "I didn't think it was cold enough for your breath to turn into mist," she commented, "Ruby's going to kill you if she knows about that habit."

"Knows about what?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, I don't know," sarcasm dripped in pools from Yang's voice, "Maybe that thing hanging out of your mouth?"

Daniel sighed as he took out the small white object that hung out of his mouth. "I know I was forgetting something," he chided himself. Daniel crushed the burning paper in his hand as his Semblance turned it into harmless air and ash.

"I didn't know you smoked," Yang stated, "Guess we learn something new every day, huh?"

Daniel shrugged as he took another one out of his coat pocket. "You want one?" he asked like he was offering a piece of gum instead.

In a flash, the cigarette was knocked out of Daniel's hand and tumbled down the hill, nowhere to be seen again. "Sorry, I just find it sorta relaxing," Daniel said, "Thought you might've wanted one."

"You do know how much shit they pack into one of those things, right?" Yang questioned, scrutinizing Daniel like he was a pair of moldy shoes.

"It's a curse," Daniel answered, "Thanks to my Semblance, I _have_ to know what goes inside of it. A couple of doses of cyanide, some stuff found in batteries." Daniel let out a dark chuckle, "I honestly don't know how they're allowed to sell this stuff."

"And you're still putting that gunk into your body," Yang commented, disgust painted on her face, "Makes you about as dumb as anyone else, huh?"

"And then there's the second part to my Semblance," Daniel reminded, "I turn anything I want into anything else I want. And it's a semi-instinctive Semblance, so I can't hurt myself by, say, throwing poison into my system." Yang groaned at his indifference, that and the stench that lingered, making her bury her face deeper into her scarf. "Sorry, old habits die hard."

"Old habits?" Yang repeated, her voice muffled by the fabric, "How long have you been doing this?"

"Five days?" Daniel tried, his voice rising higher and higher at the end like a child claiming he did nothing wrong. When Yang continued to glare at him, he relented. "Since I was eight," Daniel mumbled.

"Wait, what?!" Yang sputtered.

"I got really addicted to them after we moved here," Daniel explained, "After what happened, I want something… refreshing. And when one of my friends asked for one, well," Daniel chuckled sans the humor, "I didn't exactly say no.

"I tried to get off it, mostly due to the help from my mom." The corners of Daniel's mouth twitched into something resembling a sad smile, "If she could see me right now, she would flip. I quit two, maybe three years back."

"Well, now you're getting off of them again," Yang claimed. She stretched her hand out towards Daniel, fingers wiggling in a 'gimme' motion. "Give them to me."

Daniel stared at Yang, flabbergasted. "You what?"

"You want my help or not?" Yang badgered, "What's it going to be- Ruby or the cigars?"

With an exasperated sigh, Daniel pulled out a small white box from the pocket of his toolbelt. Hesitating slightly, he gripped it so tightly it was almost like he would crush the box, with the contents, with his bare hands. After a tense moment, Daniel sighed, the tension releasing from his shoulders, as he handed Yang the small box. "Rehab's going to be a bitch," Daniel grumbled under his breath.

Yang nodded, a small sympathetic wince appearing on her face as she tucked the pack into the inside of her jacket. "You'll probably get these back… never," Yang said while getting to her feet. Just as she was starting to turn away, she remembered, "Oh yeah, Ruby said you could have this back as well."

Confused, Daniel stared intently at Yang with a tilt of his head. Yang rummaged through her pocket for a second or two before pulling out a small silver chain. With an underhanded toss, Daniel caught the object Yang threw, watching her turn away. "Her exact words were, 'Why not go sell it? You could probably buy your way through life'," Yang quoted. The blonde brawler walked away, tucking her hands in her pockets and biting back against the cold winds.

Daniel's gaze was fixated on the chain in his hand, vaguely acknowledging Yang's departure. The pendant in his hands was familiar- as it should be, given that he made it. His fingers traced each red diamond with a touch as gentle as a breeze, a soft look in his eyes. When he neared a specific one, Daniel's lips quirked. "She found out about it, huh?" he mused. The necklace wrapped around his forearm like a bracelet, Daniel's other hand folding over the jewels. With a quick tug, he pulled the pendant off his arm, the hook in the back snapping in the wrong direction.

As if by magic, the necklace whirled and clicked silently as Daniel watched the ends fold in on each other. After a few seconds of waiting, he now hefted a small knife in his hand with the jewels around a silver hilt. At the butt of the weapon was the two artistic Beowolves still howling at nothing. Daniel flipped the knife over and over again, grinning as he imagined Ruby's reaction when she first realized the new development. "Probably didn't even take her a day to find out," Daniel chuckled to himself.

Daniel sighed to himself as tears started to form, pooling from his eyes like a running faucet. He wiped the tears from his eyes as he composed himself to not become an emotional wreck (" _Too late_ ," he mused). "She's gotten that bad, huh?" Daniel muttered to himself. Unconsciously, his hand drifted back towards the inside of his toolbelt, searching for a familiar smoke. Right until the events flashed back into his mind. "Oh, right," Daniel remembered, "Well, this is going to take some time."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

The walk back to Ruby's room was just as hard as the last time. Daniel revisited her room the next day, this time slightly more prepared- mentally and physically. With a small knock on the door, he entered the room without waiting for an answer. This time, someone else was in the room with him. "Hello," Daniel greeted.

The green-haired doctor leaned away from the dozens of machines hooked to other machines and Ruby. The doctor, Dr. Treuse if Daniel recalled correctly, smiled at his presence. "Hello, Daniel," she responded, "Here to see Ruby?" With a nod of his head, Daniel walked over while pulling out a bouquet of roses from behind his back. "Nice choice," Treuse commented as she beckoned to a vase on Ruby's nightstand.

Daniel set the flowers gently into the opening while most of his attention was focused on Ruby. Even in her sleep, it looked as if something was constantly troubling her. Without the bangs covering her face, Daniel could clearly make out the frown plastered on Ruby's face. "She's going to be asleep or delirious for most of today," Dr. Treuse interrupted, turning Daniel's train of thought into a train wreck of thought, "Ruby just had her clinical trial a few minutes ago."

Daniel nodded offhandedly as he sat down in a chair, leaning forward with his eyes trained on Ruby. A few moments of silence passed before Dr. Treuse asked, "So, what happened between the two of you?" Daniel's attention shot to the doctor with eyes wide open. He was a crow faunus, but at the moment he resembled more of an owl than anything. "Sorry," the green-haired woman apologized, "I didn't mean to tread in bad memories. It's just that…" she sighed, "Ruby has gotten worse since a month ago, and at about the same time, she stopped mentioning you altogether. So I just assumed there was some correlation."

With a heavy sigh, Daniel's gaze returned to the floor- a look that he usually saw more often these days. "You're pretty spot on," Daniel answered, "We broke up. I said some pretty nasty stuff to her, and, well…" He spread his arms out as a gesture to his situation.

Dr. Treuse grimaced, her expression souring faster than milk on a hot day. "My condolences," she offered.

Daniel began to open his mouth right as Ruby stirred in her sleep. His face turned grim as he got out of his seat. "I should probably go," he rushed.

"Daniel?" a small voice came from Ruby. The teen in question froze in his tracks, turning slowly towards the voice. Ruby was halfway in between sitting up and lying down, one arm propping herself up as she stared groggily at Daniel.

Relenting, Daniel sat at the foot of Ruby's bed, a forced smile contorting his mouth. "Hey, Ruby," he spoke.

It seemed like the last week hadn't existed as Ruby crashed into Daniel's chest, one hand crumpling up the front of Daniel's shirt. Staring in shock, Daniel reactively blanketed Ruby with his arms. As hope grew inside of him, the fire was immediately quenched by her next words. "I hate you," Ruby cried quietly, pounding a fist against his chest. "I hate you so much."

After a few more beats on Daniel's chest, each one tearing at his heart, Ruby's pounds became weaker and weaker. "You can't leave me like that," she whispered, "You just can't."

Daniel continued to embrace it all- the hate, the angst, the need. It felt like he deserved all of it, and yet, he deserved none of it. "I know," he whispered yet again like an overused line, "and I'm sorry."

A few seconds later, Ruby was once again asleep, leaning on Daniel's chest with her fists snagging on his shirt. She rested her head against his heartbeat, asleep on her knees. Daniel embraced her as Dr. Treuse stood back. She surveyed the exchange with a sad smile. "It seems like she still has feelings for you," the doctor pointed out.

"She's delirious," Daniel tried to deny with a shake of his head. But he still wouldn't let go of the bundle in his arms.

"Delirious doesn't always mean irrational," Dr. Treuse replied. She leaned against the wall opposite to the bed, continuing, "Sometimes being delirious is the way to get people to open up about themselves."

Daniel opened his mouth to shoot back a retort when the oak door opened, revealing a large blonde man with a bundle of flowers in his hands. The wrinkles and ruffles in his tan dress shirt and brown vest could be seen clearly even across the room. Like he slept in the same clothes for the past few days, not unlike Daniel. The man's brown cargo shorts were dotted with random stains, and the stubble on his chin matched the unruliness of his hair. "Hey, Ruby," he started, his bleary and his voice tired, "I got you some…" He tapered off, noticing the position his daughter was in.

Dr. Treuse stood away from the wall, assuming a more formal posture. "Oh, hello, Mr. Xiao Long," she greeted with a polite smile, "I'm sorry, Ruby fell asleep just a few moments ago."

"Alright," the man brushed aside, his stare focused on a paling Daniel. "And who are you?" he growled.

Daniel untangled himself from Ruby, laying her back on the bed. As he backed away, Ruby frowned in her sleep, stretching her arms out and fumbling around for Daniel like a baby yearning for its parent. He hesitated for an instant before backing away from the bed, an uneasy frown companying his fidgeting fingers. Daniel turned back to the newcomer. "I'm Daniel," he announced in a hushed whisper. As the man was about to shout at him, Daniel rushed out, "Mind if we take this conversation outside? For Ruby's sake?"

The man glanced quickly at the resting girl before nodding at Daniel. He opened the door for Daniel who walked as calmly as he could. As he passed by, Daniel could feel the piercing gaze from the back of his head. He heard the door click behind him as Ruby's father clicked his heels against the ground. Daniel turned around with bated breath, ready for the onslaught coming his way. "I didn't catch your name," he started timidly.

"Taiyang Xiao Long," the blonde answered. His burly arms crossed across his chest, the unfortunate flowers crushed in his whitened knuckles. "Mind telling me what you were doing with my daughter?"

"Did she never mention me to you?" Daniel asked with a tilt of his head.

"Ruby hasn't mentioned a lot of things lately," Taiyang responded, "Including her…" he choked up, "condition."

"Yeah, Ruby's forgetful like that," Daniel managed to chuckle out. Finding that Tai's expression hadn't changed in the slightest, Daniel sighed. "I might as well come out with it," he conceded, "I was the one that broke her heart."

That was a jostle to Tai's entire interrogation. He took a moment to recover before slamming Daniel against the wall. "And what does that entail?" he hissed out.

Daniel struggled to breathe, his windpipe remarkably feeling as thick as pencil lead. Tai loosened the pressure of his arm for Daniel to gasp out, "Let me explain."

Tai backed away slightly for Daniel to crumble on the ground, gasping as he massaged his throat. "We went out for a month or so," Daniel explained, "It was nice, amazing, whenever we were together."

"And then you two broke up," Tai assumed.

"I broke up," Daniel corrected, " _I_ was the one that messed up. Ruby was the one that got hurt the most."

"Was it because of her disease?"

"N-no," Daniel sputtered, "It's not like that!" He scrambled to his feet as Tai's relentless stare pierced him. "I found out before we went on our date."

"Then why," Tai growled, his teeth clenched together as tightly as his fists, "did you do it?"

Daniel slumped against the wall, running a hand through his mess of a hair. "I was threatened," he explained.

"Giving into peer pressure, were you?" Tai scoffed with a judgmental look.

Daniel just sighed at his remark, banging his head against the wall he leaned on out of frustration. "Does Hazel Gotzon ring a bell?"

Tai gave Daniel a confused tilt of his head. "She was a politician in Mistral, the last I heard," he replied, "Why?"

Daniel gulped in the sour air as he bowed his head. "She was my mom," he said, "She died about a week ago, because of me."

Tai winced slightly, his expression softened from scathing to disgust. "My condolences," he offered, "But I don't see any correlation."

"She was an example," Daniel muttered just loud enough that Tai could barely hear a word, "They made an example out of her." Daniel looked up, pain swirling in his red and blue eyes like a sandstorm and hurricane. "She was kidnapped, just to draw me out."

Taiyang was a man that was easily set off, but it didn't mean he wasn't reasonable. "Who kidnapped her?" he asked lightly, "And what do they want with you?"

Daniel looked around the still empty hall, and Tai followed suit, unsure of what Daniel was really doing. "I've only told this to Ozpin and Yang," Daniel told him nervously with a wring to his hand.

Tai nodded at Daniel's implication. "I bought a room while I stay here to check up on Ruby," he responded, "Is it fine if you want to explain it there?"

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief as a smile finally made its way onto his lips. "That would be fine," he replied with less tension.

The two of them left the white building and entered the street. And to Daniel's dread, people were starting to file into the sidewalks, starting their weekends. "Mind if we stop somewhere to eat?" Daniel asked Tai with a sideways glance, "I haven't had anything to eat since last evening."

Tai considered it for a moment before shrugging. "Why not?" he replied indifferently, "Everything's easier on a full stomach."

Daniel led Tai to a random restaurant nearby, letting his mind wander as they were seated near a window overlooking the street. The interior was like most other restaurants- colorful walls, dozens of tables laid out like a maze for waiters and waitresses. Once Daniel placed an order for pancakes and Tai a coffee, the blonde-haired father leaned forward and stared at Daniel. "How did you meet my daughter?" he inquired.

Daniel considered his words before speaking, "First time I spoke with her was when she was helping me get over my team. A day or so after the Breach."

The fire burning in Tai's eyes lessened as his expression turned sympathetic. "You haven't got a break from all this death, huh?" he sympathized.

Daniel smiled at the table as he idly traced circles with his finger against the wooden surface. "Well, Ruby and her team helped me a lot," he mused, "The month with them was pretty great."

Tai nodded at Daniel's words, allowing a smile to grace his lips. "What do you see in Ruby?" he interrogated.

"You mean what do I think of her," Daniel clarified, leaning back in his chair. He put his hands behind his head and let his mind drift to all of his memories of Ruby. "She's the one that saved me," he confessed, "Whenever I got down, Ruby was always there to help me back up, and vice versa. She's impatient, yeah, and she has a childish side to her 90 percent of the time, but I couldn't think of anyone else to be with."

Tai's lips quirked upwards as his face donned a prouder expression. Suddenly, it took a turn as he asked, "What happened to it?"

Daniel's soft look in his eyes turned grim as he smiled a bittersweet smile. "I messed up," he replied, "I said some pretty horrible things to her, and I didn't think. Well, I did, but…" He took a deep sigh with his head tilted back towards the ceiling, "I was an idiot, and I still am."

Before Tai could ask any more questions, the waiter came back with a plate for Daniel and a mug for Tai. Moments after saying thanks, Daniel dug into his breakfast as Tai calmly sipped his coffee. Daniel tore through his pancakes with such relish, even Nora would've been impressed. "Teenager's appetite, huh?" Tai commented with a small chuckle, "Yang used to be the exact same."

Daniel had to let out a small sigh of relief, feeling the softness of the pancakes against his mouth as he cut through the last of his stack. "Sort of," Daniel replied after he gulped down his mouthful, "There's that and the fact that I've been constantly working and experimenting- I've barely slept and eaten unless my body forces me to."

Tai arched an eyebrow as Daniel devoured the last bite. "I thought you guys were on break," he pointed out, "What are you experimenting on?"

Daniel wiped his napkin against his stained lips. "Mostly for Dust," he answered, "Sometimes I go a bit deeper with my Semblance."

Tai nodded at Daniel's answer as he another sip from his coffee. "You shouldn't tax yourself too much," he opined, "If you do, you won't be able to catch up with your team, no matter how hard you train."

Daniel chuckled without feeling, twirling his fork against an empty plate. "My team probably couldn't give a damn about me right now." With a scrutinizing glance from Tai, Daniel went on, "After the Breach, I was put onto a new team with Weiss, Blake, and Yang. And now we're DWBY."

Tai's eyes widened to the size of Daniel's plate. "Hold up," he demanded as his cup thudded against the table. "You're telling me you replaced Ruby's spot on her team?" His breathing deepened while his fingers started fidgeting against the sides of his mug.

Daniel unconsciously tugged on his collar as Tai continued to glare at him. "Ozpin already explained the situation to us," he rushed, "If Ruby can't continue to be a leader because of her cancer," Tai flinched at Daniel's bluntness, "Team RWBY can't form again. But, if I took the job of being the leader as a sort of placeholder, I could keep it from being completely disbanded. At least until Ruby can get back in the field."

Tai remained silent as he lowered his gaze, now glaring at his coffee mug. "I still don't like it," he grumbled.

"Welcome to the club," Daniel responded as he leaned back in his chair nonchalantly, "That was my first reaction when I heard it- it makes me seem like I'm a freeloader."

It was a few moments before either of them spoke again. "I can tell you one thing," Tai reluctantly said, "You don't sound like a freeloader to me. You, Daniel, remind me a bit of Ruby, actually." Daniel's head jerked up in surprise as he eyed Tai with wide eyes. "Ozpin's plan may make you look like it," Tai went on, "but you don't act like one. At least, from what I can gather."

Daniel ducked his head as his cheeks found some color in them from the compliment. "Thank you, sir," he thanked.

"Don't thank me just yet," Tai warned, "You still have to explain yourself for trying to break up with Ruby."

Daniel's expression quickly soured as he looked up, a strained smile on his face. "Oh, how I'm looking forward to it," he quipped.

Once the bill was paid and Daniel's appetite was satisfied, the pair walked back to Tai's hotel, one of them anxiously angry while the other one was wishing he could do almost anything else at the moment. As the streets became more and more lively with people and cars rushing by, Daniel couldn't help but constantly look over his shoulder- he swore he could feel someone watching over them. " _Stop it,_ " he chided himself, " _Paranoia isn't going to get you anywhere._ "

" _But it's better to be safe than sorry,_ " the same voice that suggested to leave Ruby spoke.

Daniel didn't realize Tai was staring at him with a weird expression until he spoke, "What are you doing?"

With a jarring realization, Daniel found himself scowling as he quickly wiped it from his face. "Sorry," he replied, "I was just thinking to myself."

"About?" Tai asked as he ducked around another person walking by.

Daniel shrugged as he stole another glance over his shoulder. "If I'm being too paranoid or not," he vaguely clarified.

Tai nodded since it was easier than questioning him on the streets, and he knew Daniel wouldn't answer anything with a straight response anyway. After a minute or so of walking, they walked into a cream-colored hotel close to the hospital. Tai's room was only on the third floor, but it felt like the 253rd to Daniel. " _What if he won't listen to me,_ " Daniel dreaded as he climbed another agonizing step. " _What if what I say isn't enough?_ "

As he ascended another mountain, Daniel thought, " _What if he won't let me help Ruby?_ "

Eventually, Daniel made it to Tai's room with Tai beckoning him in. A quick scan of the room gave Daniel some insight on how Tai was faring with his daughter's sickness- a very stale stench of alcohol, some clothes were strewn all over the bed, an empty cardboard container of food turned over, was a pretty good indication of his mentality. "Alright," Tai spoke as he closed the door behind him. He turned around with his arms crossed under his chest. "Talk," he insisted with finality in his voice.

Daniel hesitated for an instant while sitting at the foot of the hotel bed. "Yang's already heard all of what I'm about to say," Daniel tried to calm the father, "and she's allowed me to try and make my amends."

"Talk," Tai insisted.

With a sigh, Daniel started his story. "A week or two ago, my mom was kidnapped because they wanted me- what for, I don't really know. All I know is that they wanted me for my skills as a fighter for a 'revolution'. So, this group takes my mom as a hostage and puts her and me at gunpoint."

Daniel's knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists into tight balls, trying to bring up suppressed memories. "They wanted me to join," he went on with a knot in his throat, "If I didn't, they would've killed anyone I loved or cared for, including my mom, my team, and Ruby."

"How do you know they could get to them?" Tai asked, his anger now turned into curiosity and sympathy, "I mean, your mother could've been plucked out of the streets if she wasn't careful."

"Because they already did," Daniel answered with shut eyes, "They already took someone else."

"When I still lived in Mistral, I had a sister as well as my father. Then, I lost both of them to a White Fang attack. I thought that Holly, my sister, died during it; now, I wish she actually did." Daniel looked up with pained eyes, anguish swirling around in red and blue pools. "They turned her. The revolutionary people took her all those years back, and they… turned her."

Tai now was wincing at the picture Daniel painted with his emotions. "But how do you know they could attack Ruby?" he inquired.

"Don't you see?" Daniel exclaimed hysterically. He buried his head in his shaking hands. "Can't you see? They invaded everything- Mistral, Patch, Vale, the police. Who knows where else they are?"

Daniel remained silent as he tried to control his breathing to no avail, and Tai now eyed him with a new perspective. "And they absolutely will do it," he proclaimed, "They already took my mom's life." He unlocked his gaze up from the floor, staring at Tai with desperation. "I couldn't take the chance, so I broke up with Ruby. If they saw I cut my relationships, the Queen and they couldn't harm anyone I was close to since I had no one close to me."

Tai raised a hand to his mouth, his breath as heavy as his heart. "This is why you didn't tell me earlier," he mused.

Daniel nodded as he once again stared at the floor, readying for whatever was to come. "By telling you this, I'm also putting you at risk," he stated, "I didn't want to put you at risk in front of a crowd where they could be anywhere."

Tai tilted his head back in thought as Daniel waited with bated breath. Every second felt like an eternity as Daniel had to squirm through minutes of eternity. Eventually, Tai spoke with hesitance, "I see why you broke up with Ruby." Daniel let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I also understand why you saw the necessity to do what you did. But," and Daniel's heart plummeted again, "I can't let you see Ruby again."

"But sir-," Daniel protested.

"It isn't because of what I see in you," Tai went on, "From what I can see, you seem like a young man with good intentions. I understand the situation, and I can't allow you to date my daughter because of it. What if Ruby becomes a target again? Then what? Are you really allowing yourself for her to take that risk?"

"Mr. Xiao Long-."

"No," Tai insisted, "End of discussion. You can't see Ruby anymore- understand?"

"Sir, please," Daniel begged. He was kneeling on the ground, arms out in front of him like he was about to pray. "At least give me a chance to make amends!"

"And why should I?"

"Because Ruby's dying," Daniel exploded in desperation, "She's dying because of me! Talk to Yang- she knows what's going on with Ruby. I broke her heart, I broke her spirit, and now she's crumbling because of it. From what Yang said, Ruby's gotten worse instead of better from her treatment- after I broke up. I need her to at least understand. At least know what I did and why I did it. If she doesn't want me back, fine, but I can't just sit here and say I didn't try! Please," Daniel bowed his head, "at least let me try and help her."

Daniel didn't look up to see Tai's expression soften just the tiniest bit. While he was still looking at Tai's shoes, Tai relented, "Five days." Daniel looked up with tear-filled, yet hopeful, eyes. "Five days," Tai repeated, "I'll give you that much time to try and make it up with Ruby. If she wants nothing to do with you, I expect you to leave. If she wants you back, well, it's her decision."

Daniel sobbed in relief as his hands went back to his face, this time to try and hold back the tears. "Thank you," he breathed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much."

Tai shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to react to a teen crying at the brink of hysterics. "You still have to convince Ruby," he reminded, "It isn't my judgment you need to be afraid of now."

Daniel nodded as he wiped away the last of his tears for today. "Thank you, sir," he managed, "I'll be aware of that." He shakenly got to his feet with a hand still on his face and pushed his body towards the door.

As Daniel was leaving, Tai called out, "Daniel." He stopped in his tracks, turning around with a bemused look. "I expect Yang told you what would happen to you if you tried to hurt Ruby?" Daniel nodded as he prepared for the worst. "Well," Tai went on with a dangerous expression, "Just remember who was the one that taught her and Ruby their skills."

Daniel had to laugh as that had to be the least threatening thing today- a passive threat from a girlfriend's father, shockingly enough. "Don't worry, sir," Daniel chuckled, "I'm already afraid of what Ruby can do."

Tai smirked at Daniel's lighter attitude. "Smart," he complimented, "Now go on- do what you have to do."

"Thank you, sir," Daniel thanked again as closed the door behind him, "I won't let you down!"

A smile forced its way onto Tai's face, despite the grim reason why he was even here in Vale. "You better not," he yelled after Daniel as he ran down the hall.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

On the other side of town, Cardin was strutting along the sidewalk, kicking his feet against the pavement in anger. "Stupid Ozpin," he muttered to himself, elbowing his way through another stranger, "Stupid school of freaks for the weak."

Two weeks ago, Cardin insulted- sorry, pointed out- Ruby's illness. How they would allow her to keep her position in Beacon was beyond him- Beacon was for soon-to-be Hunters and Huntresses, not a school for recovering patients. Why was it so bad to try and fix their problems? He took the hard way through to get to Beacon- years in prep school, a life of hard work and sweat, and the rigorous entrance tests- and _this_ girl gets to enter Beacon 2 years earlier with cancer. It was absurd! And yet _she_ keeps her position while she's still sick as dozens of other students were rejected from their rightful place? It made zero sense to Cardin.

And that wasn't even the end of it. Not only did Ruby get to keep her position of team leader, Cardin was expelled for trying to point out these double-standards. In Ozpin's words: "We cannot have the face of a Hunter be disgraced because you, Mister Winchester, cannot filter your mouth." It wasn't his mouth that was being filtered, it was their system. Apparently, having good connections was better than having the strength and Aura to show for his strength- who knew?

Cardin ground his teeth. Now, his parents wouldn't support him since " _it was your fault for getting kicked out because of your behavior_ ". What was his fault for trying to do what should be right?

"Fucking rigged system," Cardin cursed as he neared the corner, the other citizens of Vale all mysteriously gone from the block, "What good is Beacon if you don't even get the Hunters that are the best of the best?"

"I couldn't have put it better myself," a voice said from behind him.

Cardin whirled around with his mace at the ready. "Show yourself," he demanded, eyeing the empty street.

A woman in red walked out of the small alley nearest to him. "Oh, come on now," the brunette chided lightly while her heels clicked on the ground, "That phrase usually shows a person's worst fears."

Cardin snorted as he ducked into a ready stance. "If you're my worst fear," he mocked, "I'm really lowering my standards."

"Oh please," The woman threw her head back and laughed. "Trust me," she assured, "you're not lowering your standards." Her head came back down, eyeing Cardin in interest with golden eyes. "Even then, what would _you_ do about it, ex-Beacon student?"

With an animalistic roar, Cardin rushed the woman, swinging his mace in a wild arc as the woman calmly leaped out of range like it was second nature. "Pity," she sniffed, "And you don't even want to know what I could offer."

Cardin was still in his follow-through position, his mace's head out behind him as he glared at the woman. "What offer?" he questioned with heavy breathing.

The woman smirked while she leaned against a brick wall of a rundown building. "Opportunity," she promised, raising her hand so her palm was face-up. Flames danced right above her palm as the golden outlines on her dress glowed. "I heard your expulsion may have been… unjustified. You feel like you deserve better, no?"

Cardin relaxed his stance, but his shoulders were still tense. Still, he couldn't help but examine the woman with new interest. "Do you know why I got expelled?" he questioned. When he received a shrug in response- either because she didn't care or didn't know, Cardin couldn't tell-, he ranted, "It's because of that stupid little girl with her friends. Ruby, I think her name was, has no right to be in Beacon. We're supposed to train the best there, not help the weak back on their feet. What good's a school training Hunters and Huntresses if they also just allow anyone to join?" With both of his hands on the butt of the mace, Cardin slammed his weapon against the concrete hard enough to form cracks. "And yet I get expelled for trying to point this out?" he exploded.

"The system is backward," the woman agreed with reassured smile. She straightened her pose before walking over to the enraged teen. "The headmaster is playing his favorites, the government allows him to do so, and he has his students played like pawns."

"Exactly," Cardin exclaimed with some relief. He spread his arms out and looked towards the heavens. "Finally someone gets me!"

A smirk appeared on the woman's face as she said, "What if I told you that you are the perfect addition to our revolution?"

Cardin's eyebrow arched as the tension released in his shoulders. "I'm listening," he relented.

The woman's grin broadened as the hook and bait snatched its target. "Some of us are already enlightened by this," she went on, "We are the only ones who see what this kingdom _really_ is- a mess of a government ruled by a single person: Ozpin. They may impose some sanctions on what he can and cannot control, but his influence is tremendous; who helps run the Vytal Festival, one of the only things that can keep Kingdoms from waging war on each other? Ozpin. Who has a say in almost every political development? Ozpin. Who is training the soldiers that either have the potential to protect or destroy civilizations? Ozpin."

Cardin's head kept nodding along at every point the woman made. "So, what are you suggesting?"

"We're planning a glorious revolution," she promised with spread arms, "A world with no Ozpin, with no corruption, no way of denying someone what should rightfully be theirs. We promise a world with more reform, a better system, and no one like Ozpin." She grinned menacingly at Cardin. "So," she ended, "what's your decision?"

Cardin stared at her for several moments before stretching out his hand. "Count me in your revolution," he proclaimed.

The woman's grin continued to plaster on her face as she took his hand in a firm handshake. "I didn't catch your name," Cardin realized.

"Call me," the woman suggested, "Cinder."

 **AN: Oh, damn! I'm actually progressing the story! Wow, that's a change. Hey guys, Fireflame here. And I'm back with another chapter! Yep, we've got two different agendas now- Daniel's and Cinder's. I hope you guys can see what is happening to Vale's government, at least in my eyes. Like, if you think about it, what I said is kinda true. In Cinder's rant, all the points are sort of realistic if you think about it.**

 **Anyways, Daniel's situation. Yep, I finally threw Taiyang into the mix, surprise surprise. I'm not trying to make it seem like Tai's immediately accepting Daniel, though I did make it a bit too quick for even my own taste, I'm trying to make it seem like Daniel's trying to win as many people over as he can in his position- which is a pretty shitty one.**

 **Oh yeah, Daniel smokes now. Sorry. It just... happened when I was writing, I'm sorry.**

 **Anyway, reviews:**

 **Alternet RedSkys: Wow, that's a lot of reviews, for a start. Yeah, Daniel's going to try and heal the critical people in critical condition. I've already tried to do that with Sapphire, and I already did that with Hazel. And they didn't work- whoops! And it's really** _ **not**_ **for Ruby's good. It was probably the second worst thing Daniel could've done next to not coming back at all.**

 **ThatGreenDooredBookshop: Thanks for the recommendation. I actually took it, and now I got hooked onto the channel. And I never said Cinder would or wouldn't die- just depends on which ending I want to take. Either she does or doesn't, I haven't decided.**

 **Velocity the Wolf: No judging. I would've gone with Blake just because Blake is better than Weiss (BIAS ALERT), but I understand… sorta.**

 **Cinderlord: Hey, it's Cinder- not. Thanks for the compliment! I tried to make it seem like they could actually do what they do- the giggling, not so much.**

 **If Weiss dies… hmm, do I want Weiss dead or just Blake alive? It actually would matter if you stopped reading because… I dunno, it would matter somehow.**

 **I have one last review, but I freaking hate you for some odd reason even though I shouldn't. I literally have no good reason to hate this review except that I do.**

 **SparktheDog:** _Best soap Opera 10/10_

 **THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE ENTIRE REVIEW. I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT IT PISSES ME OFF TO NO EXTENT. IT'S LIKE- I MAKE THIS SO IT COULD BE BASICALLY THE OPPOSITE OF A SOAP OPERA CLICHE, AND YOU SAY IT'S THE BEST?! IT'S FREAKING INFURIATING. IT'S LIKE IF I TOLD YOU COKE WAS THE BEST PEPSI OR VICE VERSA. IT ARGHHHH.**

 **And that was my rant (*takes a deep breath). But seriously, Sparky, I hate that post for no reason.**

 **And the poll!**

 **Holy freaking cow. 5 for Weiss, 5 for Blake. IT'S DEAD EVEN. I didn't know that this would happen. I honestly thought that Blake would win by like 4 votes, but this is… something else.**

 **I'll keep the poll open for 4 more chapters (2 months). After that, I'm writing the kill endings. Or save endings. Or both. (hehe hehe)**

 **Anyways, that's our soap opera (*deep breath of rage)! Have a nice day/night/morning/evening/whatever!**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	24. Chapter 22: Recovery

**AND IT'S BACK. Prepare the feeling cannons, we got a sorta upbeat one! Quick poll check in:**

 **Weiss at 7. Blake at 5.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything that isn't mine. Obviously. Anything remotely RWBY-like isn't mine, unfortunately.**

" _Maybe is just an excuse. You can't have a maybe, you either have a yes or a no. Make up your mind. Are you going to or are you not? You can't run from your choices. At one point or another you have to decide. Let your yes be yes and your no be no as the good book says."_

 _-Heart by Heart_ by Luna-Incendia14 ( **You read this, and you read it now. Maybe not now, but soon. As in, after this chapter.** )

Chapter 22: Recovery

"Come on, Ruby," Yang whined by Ruby's bedside, "The airships are coming in fifteen minutes- you don't want to miss it, do you?"

Four days after Yang talked to Daniel, Beacon's winter break was ending as airship after airship full of students piled into the docking bays. Yang, finally accompanied by a hesitant Blake, was trying to drag Ruby out of bed to go see Weiss's return.

"I don't want to go," Ruby protested. She turned over in her bed so her back faced her visitors.

"And why is that?" Yang inquired with a raised eyebrow.

No response, unless you count Ruby lying on her bed as stubborn as Yang on a good day as a response.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play," Yang huffed, "I'll suspend the cookie runs for a month if you don't come."

For a few moments, Ruby's face continued to go from a look of stubborn anger to that of shock and panic. "Okay, okay," she exclaimed, flailing around to sit up, "I'm up!"

Yang beamed cheekily at her sister. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" she teased.

"Jerk," Ruby grumbled as she rubbed drowsiness out of her eyes.

"Love 'ya too, sis," Yang shot back, "Now come on; the doctors already cleared you to leave!"

Minutes later, Ruby, in her familiar combat-skirt- found herself trapped between Yang and Blake as they stood at the docking bays, waiting for their fourth member. Not a moment sooner than they arrived, a Bullhead pulled into one of the stations. With a hiss, the doors opened to reveal a mass of white dresses and uniforms. As the students from Atlas filed out in a mass, Yang exclaimed, "My eyes," cowering behind her arms to try and block the 'blinding light' bouncing off their uniforms, "I can't see!"

"Oh, hush, you buffoon," Weiss's voice was heard from somewhere nearby. A second later, she maneuvered her way through the crowd into her friends' lines of sight. "Just because Atlas has the tendency to dress in white does not mean you have to joke about it every opportunity you get," Weiss huffed while dragging a small luggage behind her.

Yang finally put her arms down, showing off the big smirk donning her face. "When has that ever stopped me?" she asked.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose while she shook her head. "You're hopeless," she stated.

"How's the leg, Weiss?" Ruby asked with a nod in Weiss's direction.

Weiss unconsciously bent down and rubbed the scar on the back of her leg. "It healed," she replied. Then, with a sour tone, she added, "No thanks to Daniel."

"Okay, no mentioning him today," Yang suggested as she draped an arm over Weiss's shoulders ("Get off me," Weiss demanded), "Come on, guys- it's our first time back together in weeks! Why not have a girl's night out?"

"Girl's Day out," Blake corrected, "But it does sound nice. As long as Yang doesn't suggest a place, it should be fine."

"Blake," Yang exclaimed in shock, putting a hand to her heart. The faunus in question just shrugged with a small devilish smirk quirking at her lips while the other two couldn't help but snicker at Blake's comment. "I'll have you know that I found a perfect place for us. Lots of deserts," Ruby's expression perked up in interest, "they have a giant selection of pasta and salads," Weiss raised an eyebrow in Yang's direction, "and it's right by the harbor, so it's bound to have some seafood." Blake's bow twitched in excitement.

"Well," Weiss drawled, "It does sound like it would work."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ruby inquired with her usual bouncy tone, "Let's go!"

"That's the spirit," Yang laughed as she dragged her sister into a headlock.

"Yang," Ruby whined as Yang's knuckles rubbed against Ruby's head, "Stop!"

"Hmm," Yang pretended to think for a second or two, "Nah." Thus, her plan of "Annoying Her Sister" continued.

"Yang," Ruby exclaimed as she struggled out of the blonde's hold on her to no avail. "Let go!"

The other two girls stared at the sisters with amused and exasperated expressions like they were told aa joke that had already been used dozens of times. "What would RWBY be without Yang and Ruby?" Blake joked as she followed the sisters.

"A lot calmer," Weiss deadpanned after the faunus.

"True," Blake agreed, "But it is kind of… charming in its own way."

Blake didn't notice how close Yang was until she popped up right in front of her face, Ruby still in the crevice of her arm. "Aw, thanks, Kitty Cat," Yang teased.

Weiss threw her hands in the air while Blake's face heated to a deep red. "How does she do it?" she exasperated, "Every time."

"It's a gift," Yang claimed as Ruby finally broke free from the deathtrap that was Yang's armpit.

"Knock it off, Yang," Ruby snapped at her sister, pushing away Yang's arm and sulking forward.

The rest of her team followed behind her, slightly miffed at her reaction. "Has Ruby been… crabbier than usual, in a lack of a better word?" Weiss asked hesitantly.

Yang nodded with a deep sigh, her shoulders slumped. "Ever since he left," she replied, "she hasn't been the same."

"And for good reason," Weiss huffed indignantly, crossing her arms and her expression, "I can see why she would change because of that traitor."

"Okay, give him some slack," Yang defended.

Weiss surveyed Yang like she was mad. "Give him some slack?" she echoed in disbelief, "Give him some slack? Where were _you_ when he embedded a knife into my leg?!"

"Shut up," Yang shushed with a small glance in Ruby's direction.

Weiss followed Yang's eyes with anger steaming through hers. "You haven't told Ruby yet?" she demanded, but still keeping her voice quiet enough so Ruby couldn't hear the pair, "Why wouldn't you? She deserves to know, and Daniel does not deserve that much from any of us!"

Yang kept her eyes forward, looking off into the distance. "I have my reasons," Yang replied without a glance in Weiss's direction.

Weiss let out a huff as she quickened her pace to join up with Ruby. "Of course you do," she mocked.

Yang groaned in frustration as she threw her head back, hands on her face. "Why are you defending Daniel?" Blake asked next to her.

Yang peeked an eye out between her fingers as she stared into Blake's inquisitive amber eyes. "It's better if I told you later," Yang responded.

Blake's expression dropped at her partner's reluctance. "We all have secrets to hide, apparently," she mused while catching up with the other two.

Yang looked at her three friends walking side by side, feeling almost as alienated as Daniel. Her heart felt heavy enough to drop out of her ribs at any moment, and her head matched the weight as it drooped low in sadness. "It's still falling apart," Yang muttered.

A few minutes later, RWBY found themselves at the back port of Vale, overlooking the bright morning sea. "So, where is this restaurant you've told us about, Yang?" Weiss asked, a hand on her eyebrows to block the sun.

Yang turned around in a circle before pointing behind the group. "Right over there," she replied cheerily.

The others turned around, frowning as they looked at the rundown shop. Floyd's Diner, as the dark red sign right above the door said, didn't have the visuals to back up Yang's claims with its boarded-up windows and ancient appearance, complete with cobwebs and an inch-thick layer of dust. "Are you sure?" Ruby asked, "It looks a bit…"

"Rundown," Blake finished for her.

"It's fine," Yang waved off, forcing a smile on her face. "Come on, it's an experience of a lifetime."

Ruby, Blake, and Weiss all exchanged a look as Yang walked forward, opening the door like she was a regular there. "Well," Ruby drawled, "I guess it couldn't hurt to try."

"They better be as amazing as Yang makes them," Weiss grumbled as she went in after Yang, her luggage rolling behind her. She pushed open the door just enough to stick her head in before she yelped in shock. "What is this, Yang?" Weiss exclaimed as she walked in.

With an anxious exchange of glances, Blake and Ruby bolted after her, throwing the door open with a slam. Right from the start, they were greeted with a wave of hot air rolling over them with ten times the amount of dust in their lungs as usual. Both of them were coughing up a storm as they walked into the diner, trying to keep their eyes as open as possible through the sandstorm of a room.

Once their eyes adjusted (and both of them were cupping their hands around their eyes), Ruby and Blake's mouths dropped open in confusion. In this magnificent place, Yang vowed for was… absolutely nothing. It may have held its luster when it was still in business, but it looked as if the last time a customer walked in was centuries ago. From what they could see from the light that peeked through the boarded-up windows, the bar to the side was caked in grime and dust, the booths on the far end smelled as if they had been washed with sewer water, and the place was as barren as Vacuo's open deserts. Even then, there was a chance you would find something amazing in the desert. Here, there was even less than nothing.

"Yang?" Weiss shouted after the disappearing blonde when Blake and Ruby spotted her. "Yang, what is this? This better not be a joke."

"Nope, not a joke," Yang's voice was heard behind the three of them. They spun around to see Yang rotating the lock on the door behind them, head bowed in shame. When she looked up, her eyes swirled with an unreadable emotion as a sour smile donned her face. "Welcome to an experience of a lifetime," she promised.

"Enough of your nonsense," Weiss snapped, storming over to the infuriating blonde, "Why did you drag us here? You claimed there was going to be… well, nothing like this. What gives?"

"Actually," a male's voice sounded from the kitchen door, "Yang wasn't exactly lying- she just described what Floyd's Diner had like five years ago."

Weiss, Blake, and Ruby's heads snapped towards the kitchen door near the back of the room, right behind the empty bar. A second later, Daniel hesitantly walked out, tired eyes surveying the four of them. Before he could open his mouth, Daniel found the point of a blade at his throat. "You," Weiss hissed out, rapier at the ready, "What are you doing here?"

Daniel closed his eyes, expecting this reaction from at least one of the girls. "For the meeting," he replied evenly.

"I don't think you scheduled for one," Weiss growled out, the point of her sword a hair length away from Daniel's neck, "Now leave."

"I'm not leaving until I explain myself," Daniel answered.

A thought passed through Weiss's brain for a split second, but that split second was able to make that thought explode into an accusation. "You," Weiss realized, turning to a calm Yang guarding the door, "you knew about this. That's why you led us here. You planned it right from the beginning, didn't you?"

Yang bowed her head, her silence speaking loud enough for her actions. Right as Weiss started to narrow her eyes at her teammate, Daniel spoke up, "Don't blame Yang. I was the one that set this all up."

Weiss's attention snapped to the faunus in an instant, her anger now focused on a single person as her hand shook, Myrtenaster trembling dangerously close to Daniel's throat. It was so close, just a twitch of a muscle would end her problems.

"Do it," Daniel ordered. Weiss looked into his eyes with anger, but the confusion was prominent on her face. "Do it," Daniel repeated like he was asking for a pencil and not for his life to be taken away, "Do it. Show your teammates how cold-hearted you really are- come on, why _would_ you give me a chance to explain myself?"

When Weiss didn't remove her weapon from Daniel's neck, beads of sweat started to fall from Yang's forehead. "Daniel," she called out, "Are you sure Weiss won't hit you?"

"Nope," Daniel answered calmly, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Come on," he addressed Weiss again. Both of her hands were now on Myrtenaster to steady it, but it was still swaying violently, occasionally prodding at Daniel's skin. "Do it!" Daniel shouted.

With a deep exhale, Weiss dropped her arms, a murderous expression in her eyes. "Leave," Weiss demanded, her shoulders heaving from contained anger.

"No," Daniel stood firm, "I'm not leaving until I explain myself."

"Explain yourself?" Weiss echoed mockingly, "I don't think you have anything to explain, you… you…"

"Look," Daniel interrupted, "Okay, I'm sorry, is that what you want me to say? Because I know that's not enough. Sorry has never been enough, so let me explain myself." When he realized Weiss wasn't going to blow up like before, Daniel sighed in slight relief. He looked over her shoulder at Blake and Ruby. "Will you hear me out?" he asked with bated breath.

Blake shuffled uncomfortably on her feet, looking around for any type of escape. Ruby… Ruby just stood there. Petrified, like every muscle locked up at once. Her eyes didn't blink, the faintest of breaths were being drawn, not even a finger twitched. "Ruby?" Daniel called out softly.

At her name, Ruby's breath quickened. It turned from slow, shallow breaths to rapid hyperventilation in moments while she backed away, stumbling blindly behind her. "You…" Ruby sputtered, "You aren't here. You can't be."

Daniel pushed past Weiss, whose blade was still in her hands, and walked slowly towards Ruby. "It's me," he confirmed, arms spread out in a welcoming fashion, "Please, give me a chance to explain."

"No," Ruby denied, her whole body shaking, but no limb shaking as fast as her head, "No, no, no, no…" She whirled around and bolted for the door. Yang threw herself in front of Ruby, arms out to block the doorway. When Ruby neared her, Yang clamped onto Ruby, wrestling her away from the door while Ruby flailed around like a trapped animal. "Let me go!" she shouted, clawing at Yang's arms, "Yang, let me go!"

Yang cupped her hands around Ruby's cheeks roughly, grabbing her head so she was looking directly into her sister's panicking silver eyes. "Ruby, look at me," Yang demanded. Ruby, still with a panicked shallow breath, eventually locked eyes with the blonde. "Talk to him," Yang commanded, "Ruby, you can't keep doing this to yourself."

Ruby's mouth formed a perfect 'O'. "You helped him," she whispered, "You're helping him now."

"I'm helping you," Yang responded, setting her forehead against Ruby's, "Ruby, you need to get over this. Either accept it or don't, but you can't keep running away."

Ruby's head shook side to side, so violent it was like she would jerk it off her neck at any second. "I can't talk to him," she whimpered, "I can't talk to him."

Yang's hands clamped harder around Ruby's head, holding her steady as her lilac gaze pierced through her sister's dull silver orbs. "Yes you can," she assured firmly, "You're a Rose, you're a Huntress in training, but most of all, you're my sister. You can do this."

Ruby's breathing evened out at Yang's words. Her head was spinning a hundred miles an hour, but she managed to not immediately crash onto the ground in a spiral mess when Yang took her hands off of her face. "I can do this," Ruby whispered, swaying on her feet. She shakingly turned around to face a nightmare, but one good look sent her on edge again. "I can't do this," Ruby panicked, turning back around and trying to sprint for the door.

"No," Yang spoke firmly, gripping Ruby's shoulders before she was out of arm's-length, "You will do this." She spun her sister around, guiding her towards a stunned Daniel. "Please, at least for me," Yang begged, her hands still on Ruby's shoulders.

Sensing no escape, Ruby's eyes were fixated on Daniel, a look as wild as what was left of her hair. "Hey, Rubes," Daniel greeted softly.

"No," Ruby instructed with a shake of her head, "You don't call me that. You lost the right to call me that."

The false smile on Daniel's face strained as he took a moment to compose himself. "Alright, Ruby," he went on, "Will you hear me out?"

Ruby was silent for a gut-wrenching minute with her head bowed, taking an extreme interest in the ground beneath her. Yang wrapped her arms around Ruby's neck in comfort while resting her chin on her sister's head. "Ruby, come on," she urged, "Say something, please."

Ruby's head lifted to meet Daniel's pleading eyes with her own, filled with suppressed rage as she gritted her teeth. "Why did you do it?" she whispered. Ruby shrugged off Yang's arms, storming over to stand right in front of Daniel. Even with her small stature, she seemed to tower over Daniel with an aura of undiluted malice. "Why did you do it?" she repeated, her breathing getting heavier and heavier. When she didn't receive a response, Ruby shoved Daniel back, right into the bar. "Answer me!" Ruby shouted, "Why?"

An expression full of hurt, Daniel painfully stared back at the girl he didn't know anymore. "I did it to protect you," he answered.

"Bullshit," Weiss scoffed.

"Weiss," Yang exclaimed, eyes shooting wide open.

"Oh, come on, how can't you see it?" Weiss proclaimed, "He pretends to be a friend, exploits others when he can, and lies about his intentions. How do you not see it?"

"Because that's not what I'm doing," Daniel objected.

"Oh, sure," Weiss snapped, "Like how you didn't care about who got in your way with Adam."

"Alright, I'm sorry," Daniel shot back, "I'm sorry about what happened to your leg. Let me explain all of it."

"To my leg?" Weiss repeated, "To my leg? I couldn't care what happened mainly to my leg- you almost got me pulled out of Beacon!"

Daniel knitted his eyebrows together. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think my father did when he heard about it?" Weiss steamed, "Do you think he laid back and make me be on my merry way? Absolutely not- he was _this_ close to pulling me out of Beacon because you stabbed my leg!"

"You did what?" Ruby screeched at Daniel as her face morphed into a shocked expression.

"It wasn't like that," Daniel tried to deny, palms up in front of his face in a surrendering gesture. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he watched his carefully laid out plan crumble.

"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't," Weiss mocked, "What do you call this then?" She gestured to the thin white line cutting through her skin on her left calf. "What do you think my father made of it? I'm only here when he heard your last name, so I'll have to thank your mom- oh, that's right, you got her killed!"

"Weiss," Yang exclaimed with a gasp, putting a hand to her mouth.

"Alright, I've had enough of your pettiness," Daniel growled, pulling himself up. He made his way in front of the stubborn girl who was starting to dread the menacing look on Daniel's face. "Insult me all you want, but do _not_ ," he shouted at Weiss's face, "bring my family into this. You didn't even question if I had a reason to attack Adam without a thought, did you?"

"Oh, I questioned it," Weiss claimed, "But you're forgetting who you're talking to. I'm part of the Schnee family," Weiss tilted her head up, looking at Daniel from behind her nose with a superior attitude, "My family's been almost at war with those radicals, so I hate them as much as you do. And I didn't see myself fly off the hinges that night."

"Oh, bravo," Daniel exclaimed, stepping back as he clapped his hands together mockingly, "You're trying to empathize with something you have no experience in."

"Excuse me?" Weiss seethed.

"You heard me," Daniel affirmed with a glare.

"Daniel," Yang pled, "Get to the point, please."

Daniel blatantly ignored the blonde as he stepped up to Weiss. "You talk about it like you've also lost someone close to you," he proclaimed.

"My family has lost dozens of people close to us," Weiss answered.

"You or your family?" Daniel clarified with a pointed look. From Weiss's silence, he went on, "Exactly. You didn't know any of them personally; I bet you've forgotten half of their names already."

Weiss opened her mouth in protest but stopped, horrified that Daniel was spot on with his analysis. "You think that's the same as losing your family?" Daniel asked, "If you lost your father tomorrow to someone, or a sister, or a mom, what would you do?"

"I would hunt them down," Weiss grumbled under her breath, "And make them pay."

"So now you see," Daniel ended, "Why I stopped at nothing?"

"Is this why you came back?" Weiss questioned, staring into Daniel's red and blue eyes, "To convince us that you were doing 'good'?"

"Absolutely not," Daniel scoffed, "I know I was in the wrong. No, I came back for a chance."

"A chance?" Weiss asked with a cock of her head, no longer on edge to try and kill the faunus in front of her.

"A chance to make things right," Daniel replied, "I was the reason the team's like this. I'm the reason, Ruby," he gestured to the horrified girl, "is like this."

"Meaning?" Ruby snapped when she heard her name uttered from Daniel.

Daniel turned towards his… he didn't know what to call her anymore. Girlfriend? Ex? "Ruby, I'm sorry," he echoed like a broken record.

"You keep saying that," Ruby said while she crossed her arms underneath her chest, "but I still don't believe it."

"Just give me a chance to explain," Daniel begged.

A heart-wrenching passed as Ruby didn't speak, staring at the ground with fake interest. With a heavy heart, Daniel bowed his head, pushing past a still silent Blake and a Yang with a stunned expression. As his hand neared the door handle, Ruby finally spoke up, "Talk."

Daniel turned around, a confused but hopeful expression lighting up his face. "What?" he asked in a voice full of disbelief.

"Talk." Daniel saw Ruby with empty eyes, staring back at him in judgment. "Or was everything you said just lies like everything else."

Daniel nodded, taking his hand back away from the door. "You guys might want to take a seat," he said as he gestured to the booths, "This may take a while."

When the four girls were seated, Daniel conjured up a chair about a foot away from the table told them his story. The exact same one he told Yang six days ago, just with a few extra parts like his visit with Tai. Once he was done, no one was spared of having tear-filled eyes. Not even Weiss who tried to be cold towards Daniel.

After Daniel's tale, no one spoke for a long time, letting the melancholic mood hang in the air. "Is this why you agreed to lead us here?" Weiss asked Yang, looking across the table at the blonde.

Yang wiped a tear away as she nodded. "I thought it was a good enough reason," she proclaimed, "for sticking me in the ground again."

Daniel bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Judge me how you will now," he offered, "I just needed to get my part of the story out."

Ruby stared at Daniel with intent. "H-how…" Ruby choked up before composing herself, "How do I know you actually had feelings for me, though?"

Daniel clenched shut his eyes along with his hands, crumpling his pants until the wrinkles were permanent. Meanwhile, Yang let her head thud against the table. "Oh, for the love of…" Yang grumbled in frustration. She stood up abruptly, pulled her sister up by the arm, and dragged her away. "I think we need some fresh air," she Yang declared with a pointed look to a struggling Ruby. As she dragged her to the open door, Yang looked over her shoulder and mouthed, "I'll talk to her," to Daniel.

Daniel shot Yang a sad smile and a thumbs-up right as the door slammed shut behind them. When the door closed, he turned back to the two other girls. "Blake?" he called out to the faunus still staring blankly at the table, "You're being extremely quiet, even for yourself."

"What do you want me to say?" Blake demanded with a hysterical edge, looking up from the table, "Yes, I hate you for what you did to us- I despise you. But I can't just sit back and say I did nothing to deserve this!"

"But you didn't," Daniel attempted to calm her, "You did nothing."

"I stopped you from avenging your family, that's how," she proclaimed on edge, "I let Adam get away."

"You didn't-," Daniel groaned in frustration as he slapped a hand against his face, "You let him get away because he was your teammate."

"Mentor," Blake corrected.

"Mentor," Daniel accepted, "What I'm trying to say is, you're not in the wrong- I was. And, well, I'm sorry about what happened there." He said the last part while he traced his jawline, giving Blake an apologetic look.

Blake unconsciously rubbed the scar Daniel gave her. "It- it's different."

Daniel sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know what? This would probably be the easiest way." He stood up and spread his arms out wide, shutting his eyes. "Hit me."

Blake blinked at his bluntness. "What?" she sputtered.

"It's only right," Daniel claimed, "Well, if I really wanted to make it right I'd have you do the same, but, well… I'm a wimp."

Blake shook her head, looking at Daniel in horror. "I- I can't do that," she exclaimed.

Daniel rolled his eyes behind his eyelids. "I'll make it easier for you," he started. Then, in an extremely monotonic voice, he spouted, "I was the one that broke apart the team. I was the one that gave you that scar. I broke Ruby's heart on purpose. You're White Fang scum, and so is anyone else even remotely related to them."

A loud _smack_ was heard as Daniel briefly saw stars and felt a burning sensation on his cheek. He couldn't help but gasp out a laugh despite having to rub his cheek to soothe the pain. "Out of all of those," he mused, opening his eyes, "Of course it would be the faunus movement one that gets you."

Blake let out a huff as she sat back down, her hand unnaturally redder than usual. "Feel any better?" Daniel asked.

Blake squirmed for a bit. "A little," she admitted with a hint of regret.

Daniel sighed. "Alright, this is the question I should ask." He looked intently at Weiss and Blake and asked, "Do you trust me?"

It took a bit of time before either of them answered. Blake rubbed her arm, a bit squeamish, and replied, "Yes," after a good minute.

Daniel smiled at her before turning to the girl in white. "Weiss?" he inquired.

Weiss stared into Daniel's pleading eyes, taking extremely shallow breaths. Finally, she let out a deep exhale. "I suppose," she grumbled.

Almost in disbelief at his "luck", Daniel threw his head back and laughed in relief. "I'll take it," he declared.

It was the first time in a long while that either of the two girls smiled. Then, Yang walked back in with Ruby. They were greeted with an unbelievable scene after everything that happened- Weiss and Blake were smiling with Daniel laughing a foot away from them. "I'm guessing you guys are good with Daniel?" Yang shouted from across the room.

"Good is not the proper word for it," Weiss corrected, "Okay with is still a bit of a stretch."

"Good enough for me," Daniel exclaimed. With a sudden realization, he got up from his chair and spun around, looking for the familiar silver eyes. When he finally spotted them slightly behind Yang's right side as if she was her shadow, Daniel forced a smile in Ruby's direction. "Well?"

Ruby scuffed her shoe against the ground. After a moment of silence, she spoke in a low voice, just enough for Daniel to hear over the wind coming from the doorway, "I guess."

Even with her speedy nature, Ruby didn't know Daniel had crossed the room until he was hugging her as tight as he could, burying his face into the crook of her neck. "Thank you," he whispered, tears streaming down his face, "Thank you, thank you, th-."

Ruby pushed Daniel off of her with force, making him stumble a step before catching himself. She wiped away Daniel's tears on her neck with an unreadable look. "Hold on," Ruby warned while pointing her finger at Daniel, "No."

Daniel cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "No?"

"No," Ruby repeated, "No hugs. You're not my boyfriend anymore."

"Friends at least?" Daniel questioned hopefully.

Ruby hesitated as she looked at her sister and teammates. They all stared back at her with observative eyes. With a sigh, she answered, "Sure."

Again, Ruby found Daniel at her side without her permission. This time with an arm around her shoulders. "In that case, I'll make you my girlfriend in no time, Rubes."

Ruby shrugged off Daniel's arm before pointing at him again. "No," again she denied, "You lost the privilege to call me that."

"Okay," Daniel replied with a sort of downed look. Then, with a second thought, he smirked. He had to add on, "Sweetie."

"No," Ruby exclaimed, her face heating up. From embarrassment or anger, no one else in the room could tell. Yang started to crack up, slapping her knee as she pinched her temples. Her sister noticed and tried to go on with her unconvincing angry tone, "Y-you can't call me that either."

"Really, Rubbles?"

"Or that."

"Are you sure, Little Red?"

Or that."

"Come on, Little Gem." By this point, Daniel's grin stretched from Vale to the outskirts of Vacuo, and Yang was hunched over, banging a fist on the ground and howling with laughter. Weiss and Blake also eventually joined in with Yang as Ruby's face grew redder and redder until it resembled her namesake.

"Stop calling me these things," Ruby shouted, stomping a foot on the ground.

"Calling you what, Rosebud?" Daniel asked innocently, his tone ruined by the stuttering giggles he tried to hold in.

Ruby yelled in frustration, throwing her hands up to the sky. "Is that how you're playing, Crow-Face?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sweetheart."

"Worm-Breath."

"Little Rose."

"Bird Brain."

"Ruby-o."

"Featherhead."

"That's not really an insult, but okay, Sweetcheeks."

"For Pete's sake," Yang exclaimed with tears streaming from her eyes, "Just kiss already!"

Daniel blushed a light red while Ruby… it was almost impossible to name anything redder than her face. Sputtering, she stormed out of the abandoned store, throwing open the door with a loud _bang_ as they hit the walls. Still, when none of them could see her anymore, Daniel swore he heard Ruby laughing in the distance. "It's good to be back finally."

"You still have a lot of ground to cover," Weiss reminded, still hiding her mouth because of laughing too much.

"After all of this, and I'm supposed to be worried about _this_?" Daniel laughed, "This is a walk in the park, all things considered." He looked back at the open doors wistfully. "She'll come back soon," he claimed, "I know it."

 **AN: And there's Chapter 22. Hey guys, Fireflame here. Yeah, it's sorta early for me to post a chapter. Truth is, 4 days of continuous flu really gives you a lot of free time. And then having 2 of those days be school days at the end of a quarter will definitely stress you since I have to make up so much freaking stuff, I'll probably not update for the rest of the month or so. So let's try and get it out early, why not?**

 **Oh yeah, Ruby and Daniel are starting to get back together. Yay! Long time running for this chapter. It was supposed to be longer, but… 'ya know… homework stuff. Also, I'm a bit too proud of coming up with the nickname stream scene. I got a bit too proud of myself then.**

 **Anyway, polling!**

 **NO! WEISS IS AHEAD. WEISS AT 7 AND BLAKE AT 5. UNACCEPTABLE. Blake fans, unite and turn the tides! Wait, this was supposed to be an unbiased poll, whoops. There goes that.**

 **ThatGreenDooredBookshop: Yeah, that's basically what I felt, but I understood the actual reason he said it- it was supposed to be a compliment, and I still respect it as it. Sorta pissed for… 5 minutes. That's about it. Thanks for the support, but I don't want to set the bar** _ **too**_ **high. So it would be fine if I had a bad chapter every now and then. (Not really, but let's pretend). Also, I know Cardin's not strong. That's sorta the point. I got two words: Superiority Complex.**

 **wolverine12: Umm… Close enough? Nah, they're getting back together.**

 **Alternet RedSkys: And she got the will to live. Hurray!**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading this, and especially thank you for sticking this far!**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	25. Chapter 23: Welcome Back

**AN: And here's another chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, yadda, yadda, yadda... more sarcastic comments about me being in an alternate universe to be named "Rooster Teeth"... and disclaimer done.**

 _"_ _Love at first sight- no such thing. Love at first encounter- plausible. If you've loved something the moment you've seen it- that's not love, that's interest. Maybe even obsession. Love is what happens when your life changes drastically. It's when your small little bonds and connections finally start tugging- when they finally mean something- when it becomes a part of your life." -Fireflame789, just now._ ( **I did a thing!** )

Chapter 23: Welcome Back

For the first time in over a week, Daniel was returning back to Beacon. With his friends beside him, no less. He glanced to his side at Yang, Blake, and Weiss just ahead of them, and then back to the back of Weiss's head. Yang noticed the shift in Daniel's attention and looked at him curiously. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered offhandedly. Shaking his head, he asked the girl ahead of him, "What did you mean by your dad knowing my name?"

Weiss turned around, a startled look donning her face. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Weiss," Daniel went on, "You said that your dad only let you come back because he apparently knew who I was. What did you mean by that?"

Weiss stopped in her tracks, looking at the ground with an unreadable expression. Blake followed suit, noticing that the girl next to her stopped moving for an unknown reason, with Daniel and Yang doing the same to make sure they didn't run into the other two. "Weiss?" Daniel repeated, "You okay?"

Weiss looked up with a distant expression. "According to my father, we know each other," she claimed. Before she could be interrupted, the girl in white reached into a small compartment into the luggage she was dragging behind her. When her hand reemerged, Weiss held a small photo, barely smaller than a postcard. She stretched her arm out to Daniel who walked over and took the photo from her. "Your mom helped out our family through a lot of business troubles, negotiating trades between kingdoms."

Daniel flipped the photo around and saw his mother's face staring back at him. To her side was his father with his arm wrapped around his wife's waist, the other arm clasping onto a young Daniel's shoulder, no older than six. Complete with his heterochromatic eyes and the black feathered wings. In the photo, Daniel looked almost annoyed in his red dress clothes while his sister standing next to him was perfectly fine with her emerald green dress, hands clasped behind her back with a bright smile, showing off her pearly white teeth as her mom wrapped her arms around Holly's neck.

On the other side of the photo stood Weiss's family. Daniel immediately could tell which one was Weiss, but the lack of the scar over her eye confused him for just a second. With large, bright icy-blue eyes, the familiar ponytail, and a polite regal smile, there was no question who the young lady in the photo was. Behind her was presumably her father with one hand resting on his daughter's shoulder. On the left were two other children in white- a girl that looked older than Weiss with an expression as cold as an Atlesian winter, and a small boy that had eyes a bit too calculative for his age.

Daniel flipped around the photo for Blake and Yang, who's head was craned around, to see. "What is this?" he asked Weiss.

Weiss stared back at him, a sour glimmer in her eyes. "Dinner party," she answered, "Your mom was invited to many of them, at least from my father's words."

Daniel put down the picture, his head bowed as he took in every little detail from the old photo. "Why don't you start from the beginning?" he suggested.

- **xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

 _"You… wanted to see me, father?" Weiss asked, closing a heavy oak door behind her. She stepped forward into her father's office with hesitant breaths._

 _A man with hair as white as wool looked up from the dozens of stacks of papers littered throughout the desk. When he heard his daughter's voice, he pushed away from the document he was working on, folding his hands beneath his chin. "Yes, Weiss," he replied, "Please, sit." He gestured to a small armchair in front of the intimidating desk. When Weiss sat, hands passively resting in her lap, Jacques went on, "What happened to you while you were in Beacon?"_

 _Weiss flinched as if she had been hit before trying to return to a neutral expression. "I-I don't know what you mean," she stammered._

 _"Oh, don't try and play games with me, child," Jacques scoffed, "You act as if I hadn't noticed the scar and bandage that permanently stains your leg." His eyes pointed directly at the small mark on Weiss's calf which she tried to cover up quickly. "Now speak."_

 _Weiss remained silent, stubbornly refusing to talk as her gaze never left her lap. "Very well," her father conceded, "If you're unable to talk, I shall have to assume the worst and pull you out of Beacon."_

 _Weiss looked at her father, horrified. "You can't," she exclaimed, "I belong there!"_

 _"I can," her father huffed, "and I will. Unless you have a reason that will satisfy me, I have no reason to keep you in Beacon."_

 _Weiss let out a steaming breath before speaking, "We were fighting the White Fang." Not the whole truth, but just enough of it. "One of my partners went ballistic and destroyed anything in his path. In the process, I was injured, as you can tell." She showed the small scarring on her calf that started to turn white._

 _Jacques finally sat back in his chair, hands clasped onto the arms of his chair. "Very well," he announced. Weiss's heart stopped, as those two words had never meant anything good in her life, ever. "I will not pull you out of your dream," he said 'dream' as if it was something he still didn't believe in, "of becoming a Huntress." Weiss let out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding. Before she could thank her father, he spoke again, "Who was that boy so I can get him expelled?"_

 _Weiss gaped at her father. "Please, you can't," she stalled, "If you throw him out, we don't have enough members for our team to continue."_

 _"They'll find another student to replace him," Jacques waved off, "I cannot have an emotionally unstable teen continue to tarnish our family's name. Who is this man?"_

 _"It's not that easy," Weiss protested, "Beacon can't just randomly take out students from other years or schools whenever they feel like it!"_

 _"They pulled you out from Atlas," her father reminded her, "They took in a fifteen-year-old as well if you believe the news, that is." Weiss remained silent as her only argument was shot down. "Who is this boy?" Jacques demanded again._

 _Weiss debated for a long time in her mind, questioning whether or not she would take her chances. "Daniel Gotzon," she conceded._

 _"Daniel Gotzon," her father echoed, pushing a button on his keyboard as a projection was brought to life in front of him like a screen, "So that is the boy that has been tarni-." His hands froze suddenly above the keys, realization settling in. "Did you say Daniel Gotzon?" he questioned, looking back up at his daughter through the projected browser._

 _"Yes," Weiss clarified, an annoyed look in her eyes as they rolled around. "Shall I also tell you his birthday if that makes it easier?" she jibed._

 _"Watch your tone," Jacques warned as he spun around in his chair, reaching up to the bookshelf behind him. He pulled a picture frame off from one of the higher shelves, bringing it down to eye-level. "Gotzon," he mused, "That's a name I thought I would never hear again."_

 _"Wait," Weiss interrupted her father's train of thought, "You know his family?"_

 _"You should as well," he replied as he spun back around, clicking off the projector so the blue glow disappeared that hid Weiss from her father. "Has he told you about his family?" Jacques inquired, handing Weiss the frame._

 _"No," Weiss said. With a questioning raised eyebrow, Weiss took the picture frame, examining the two families in the photo. "This is Daniel?" she asked, flabbergasted._

 _"Indeed, it is," Jacques affirmed, "His mother, brilliant woman, she was. Always able to pull the resources for negotiation, even when there seemed to be nothing left to offer." Jacques leaned back in his chair, eyes planted on the ceiling as he reminisced the past. "Sometimes I believe that she is the only reason our company is still standing._

 _"Hazel was an ambassador between Mistral and Altas, and she was quite amazing at her job. You met her at dozens of our gatherings. She is by far my favorite faunus to have ever lived. And her family was… polite enough. I tried to get you to interact with her children, but you turned them away like you always do."_

 _"How does that fit into anything?" Weiss asked._

 _"But you must've at least known that something tragic happened to his family, correct?" Jacques inquired. Weiss nodded, eyes still fixated on the picture. "Well, a year after that picture was taken, his family was attacked. By the White Fang. His family lost everything, including his father- smart man, and also a hard worker- and his sister. And a few days ago, he lost his mother while witnesses claim they saw a group of people with White Fang masks running away from the scene."_

 _The knuckles on Jacques's hands turned white as the arm of his chair strain from his grip. "He may be the only person that hates the White Fang more than I do, and for good reason." He looked at his daughter with intense eyes. "You said that you were fighting the White Fang, did you not?"_

 _"Yes," Weiss hesitantly answered._

 _Jacques harrumphed. "I'd hate to see Hazel's legacy disgraced," he commented, "Knock some sense into him when you get back, will you?"_

 _"Wait," Weiss started, "You're not going to get him expelled?"_

 _"He had a reason for his anger," Jacques decided. He nodded at the frame in Weiss's hands. "Give that to him whenever you meet Daniel, will you?"_

 _Weiss gritted her teeth as the frame groaned in her hands. Her stubbornness subsided as she exhaled. "I will, father," she replied obediently._

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

"And here I am," Weiss ended, eyeballing the picture in Daniel's hands. With shaking hands, Daniel tried to give it back, but Weiss waved him off. "Keep it," she said, "It's yours now."

Daniel quickly pocketed the picture before grabbing Weiss by the shoulders. "Hey," Weiss exclaimed, struggling to get loose, "Let go of me."

"Is there anything you remember about Holly?" Daniel questioned, a crazed look in his eyes, "Something that I may have forgotten. A weakness, something that might've gotten to her or irritated her?"

"I barely remember meeting your sister," Weiss snapped, finally shoving away Daniel. She harrumphed before brushing off some dust on her dress. "What are you trying to learn from it? Your sister is gone to… that woman you fought."

"I wanted to save her," Daniel answered with his head in his hands, "I need something, someone, to connect her back to the past. Something the Queen hasn't already tainted."

Weiss's lips puckered into a soured expression. "Well, I'm sorry," she conceded, "But I don't have anything."

Daniel groaned as the four of them started walking again. "Well," he drawled, a hand on his chin, "Now that I think about it, I do remember you. From back then."

Weiss looked back, slightly startled. "You do?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Daniel's smirk widened, "Snowflake."

"Nope, I remember you now," Weiss groaned. She pointed a stiff finger at Daniel along with a deadly glare. "You do not call me that, ever, if you still want your… your-."

"Alright," Daniel declared, hands up in a surrendering gesture, his smirk broadening with every step, "Whatever you say, Snowflake."

Blake and Yang dissolved into fits of giggles. "Don't let Jaune get wind of that," Yang boomed out between laughs.

Weiss irritatedly blew air through her nose before turning back around, heading for Beacon. "Insufferable," she declared with a smug Daniel behind her.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Daniel took in a deep breath until his lungs couldn't handle it anymore. "It's good to be back," he sighed, standing at the front entrance of Beacon in all its glory.

"We'll see you later," Yang called out to Daniel as the other girls were already walking away, "Got some stuff to do before the semester starts."

Daniel nodded, but before he could say anything, an angry voice interrupted his thoughts. "Daniel," a girl's voice called out.

With a stiff spine, Daniel turned around shakingly, his eyes already weary. "H-hey Coco," he greeted with a meek wave. His eyes scanned for a second girl before they went wide. "Oh, no," he breathed, turning to where Yang and the rest were staring back at him with confused looks. "You guys know of a good place to hide?" he begged.

"Are you really that scared of Coco?" Yang jibed.

"No," Daniel shot down, his eyes darting around the open area, "I'm scared of Velvet, though." Looking to his left, he started to dash away right as a familiar hand grabbed the back of his hood. Daniel's feet left the ground as the world took a ninety-degree turn for him. In an instant, his back ached from slamming against the ground, and his eyes looked up at the sky, right before a pair of rabbit ears entered his view. "H-hey, Velvet," Daniel stammered, "How are you doing?"

Velvet didn't say a word as she pierced him with a cold stare, dragging him back to a waiting Coco. "Guys," Daniel begged his team, "Help, please."

Yang cracked a small smirk as she ushered her equally smug teammates away. "Sorry, Daniel," she teased, "This is your fight."

"It's not going to be a fight," Daniel exasperated, "It's going to be a slaughter." Then, he noticed Velvet's cold stare on him again. "Can I have a head start?" he squeaked.

"You had an eight-day head start," Velvet huffed as she threw him in front of Coco, "And it just ended."

"Mercy?" Daniel squeaked, his voice an octave higher than usual.

Coco tilted her head, pretending to be in thought. "Hmm," she hummed, "Nope." Coco grabbed hold of the back of Daniel's collar as she dragged him back to the city. "Come on," she commanded, "You've got a day to make it up."

"Hey, I can walk by myself," Daniel protested, stumbling along as Velvet tailed him with a giggle.

"Are you sure that was really necessary?" Weiss asked Yang with a hint of pity, "I mean, are you sure he won't die by tomorrow?"

"Nope," Yang replied, popping the 'P', "Now come on." She threw her arms around her two teammates. "We got to get you settled back in."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

The next time the girls saw Daniel, he was stumbling into the cafeteria during dinner. The bags under her eyes were prominent even from across the room, and his clothes were so ragged and wrinkled it was like he slept in the same clothes for over a week. "What did you do, Daniel?" Yang exclaimed, eyes almost as big as the plate she was eating off of.

Daniel collapsed at the corner seat of the table, in his spot near Ruby. "Shopping with Coco," he groaned.

Blake raised an eyebrow as she shoveled another bite in. "I thought she took you yesterday before lunch," she commented.

"We did," Daniel affirmed, "You don't know Coco's shopping sprees." He groaned again, sinking lower into the table, "I can't take it anymore. Last time we went, it lasted three days straight." He slapped the table, pushing himself up to look at Yang with a crazed expression. "She's a monster in the mall."

"Thanks for the warning," Yang replied, expression slightly horrified and impressed at the same time.

Daniel moaned, his head hitting the table again. "Anyway," he went on, "How was your guys' days?" He tilted his head slightly to the side to see an unusually silent Ruby. "Ruby?"

"Fine," Ruby answered emotionlessly as another bite entered her mouth.

"Alright, Sweetie," Daniel teased.

"Cheep-skate," Ruby shot back instinctively.

Yang started howling with laughter, clapping her hands as Blake and Weiss slowly picked up on the pun before they groaned. "I knew we were related, somehow," Yang laughed.

"Shut up," Ruby mumbled, a rosy tint appearing on her cheeks.

Just then, all five of their Scrolls went off, filling the air around them with buzzes and alarms. Everyone at the table pulled their Scrolls out consecutively to see the same message from Ozpin. "Come to my office in five minutes. And bring your weapons (excluding Ruby)."

All of them looked at each other with confused expressions, shrugging. Five minutes later, Team DWBY and Ruby were exiting the elevator. In front of them was Ozpin, still behind his desk with his signature cup of coffee at hand and Goodwitch hanging off to the side of the desk. And there, stood in front of the desk…

"They're not ready Ozpin," Ironwood argued, "We need more troops if the situation is as big as you say it is."

"They have to be," Ozpin countered, "We have no one else that-." He noticed the open elevator doors with the contents within them. "Hello, children," Ozpin greeted as he leaned forward and set the mug on his desk. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Excuse me, sir," Weiss interrupted, "But why are we here? The semester just started."

"Quite right," Ozpin agreed, "You aren't in any trouble. At least, none that are conventional." The five teens exchanged worried glances. "I assume that, since Daniel is still alive in your presences, he has told you about his past?"

"How did you-?" Daniel started.

"There is very little that can hide from me in this school," Ozpin interrupted vaguely, "Still, your perpetrators are still at large, and we are certain a few of them are in this school. For that reason, we want you prepared."

"Prepared," Weiss echoed, "You want us to… engage these people?"

"Not engage, little girl," A voice sounded from behind them, "Fight them."

The five teens turned around, two of their expression lighting up while Weiss's turned into one of annoyance. "Children," Ozpin introduced, "I'd like you to meet one of my most trusted friends- Qrow Branwen." ( **AN: And there he is.** )

Qrow was opening his mouth when a red blur tackled his arm. "Uncle Qrow," Ruby squealed.

The man chuckled as he rubbed his niece's hair. "Hey, Little Squirt," he greeted, "You might want to get off. Ozpin's got more to say."

As Ruby untangled herself from Qrow, Ozpin went on with a smirk, "As you know, from Daniel's story, this Queen is scheming for the end of our government and the life you know. This is I need you four, my apologies Miss Rose, to be prepared when the time comes."

"Why not pick someone else?" Weiss asked, "Why not ask one of the Seniors here?"

"Because the Seniors are already done with their techniques," Ironwood responded with a small glare in Ozpin's direction, "Their abilities and styles have already been documented and planned for. I cannot take the chance that some of them have been with this Queen or already planned for."

"So take another team, why is it ours?" Daniel questioned.

"You five already know what we're dealing with," Ozpin answered, "If I told the rest of the school what would happen, what do you think the response would be? Mass hysteria. We are essentially going to war with unknown forces. How many of us do you think would be left if we told the students that?"

The teens nodded with grim understanding. "You four are our best shot at this," Qrow continued, "But you have to learn a lot before you're able to even fight them. First thing's first." He stretched his arm out to DWBY, "Give me your weapons. One at a time."

"What?" Weiss exclaimed, "You can't just expect us to hand you our weapons!"

"Watch me," Qrow huffed. When Weiss clutched the hilt of her rapier with white knuckles, Qrow let out a silent chuckle. "I'm not going to break it, just inspect it, Princess."

With that, Weiss unsheathed her Myrtenaster, hesitating slightly, before handing it over to Qrow. Qrow balanced the rapier between the two ends on his fingers, eyeing the weapon carefully. Unexpectedly, he threw the weapon in the air, catching it in the perfect position to throw out a thrust. The teens took a step back, startled. Qrow hummed in appreciation before straightening up, handing Weiss back her weapon. "Nicely crafted," he complimented, "And the Dust chamber's going to give you a lot of diversity in your fights."

Weiss stared at the confusing adult with a weird look. "Thank you?" she replied.

"Next," Qrow called for as he snapped his fingers, "You. Faunus girl. Blake, is it?"

"How did you know-?"

"Read your file," Qrow answered before Blake even had the chance to ask, "Also, it's way too obvious."

With a small blush, Blake handed over her sheathed Gambol Shroud. With the bone-chilling sound of metal scraping on metal, Qrow pulled out Gambol Shroud, shining it in the light above his head. "Nicely balanced," he commented, "A bit on the fragile side."

"I keep it sheathed to make it last longer," Blake put in.

"That's not happening anymore," Qrow scoffed, "You're not trying to outlast Grimm, you're fighting other humans now." Qrow clicked a small trigger on the hilt, making the blade collapse on itself as the sword turned into its roped form. "Interesting," Qrow mused. He twirled it around for a quick moment before clicking the trigger and sheathing the blade. "Only things I'd tell you to do would probably be to get more types of ammunition so you don't lack long-range combat and reinforce the blade. Not too much, but enough so it doesn't shatter after three parries."

Blake nodded before stepping back towards her friends. Qrow clapped his hands as he walked in front of Daniel. "And our fallen crow here," he announced.

Daniel nodded respectfully as he unclasped the entire thing from his back, hidden beneath his cloak. He handed Qrow his prototype as Qrow's eyes widened just a smidge at the beauty before him. The three-foot by two-inch blade was hidden by a black sheath with two barrels running down the two edges. A scope was mounted on one edge with a collapsed grip on the other, near the opening of the hilt. A switch was hidden near where the thumb would be on the grip with a collection of dials running down the sheath. Qrow inspected every dial, every crevice before peering at Daniel. "The hell did you do with your guard?" he asked.

Daniel shrugged before smugly answering, "Went overboard. Shotgun sniper combination with a Dust chamber for the sheath itself. Durable enough to be used as a blunt weapon as well."

Qrow smirked as he hefted the entire thing, looking down the scope while aiming out the window towards Vale. "I'd give you top marks for this thing alone," he beamed, "You're a real weapons-nut."

Then, Qrow took the sword out of its place in the "gun". In it was a yellowish-white blade, almost like it had started rusting already, but with small red spots scattered on the blade's faces. It was divided into a bunch of sections, a very thin dark line only seen if you looked excruciatingly closely in between each of them. The red leathered hilt completed the look with a small silver handguard. "Pull out the handguard," Daniel suggested.

As Qrow did just that, gears and locks hissed to life as the segments of the blade fell apart, held together by what looked like string. Qrow chuckled to himself as he admired the chained-together sword, imagining the hundreds of possibilities the weapon could do. He pushed the guard back into its rightful place, making the string reel the blades together perfectly. "You could also twist the leather," Daniel added with pride.

And with that, the sword was on fire. Well, the blade of it was, with anything below the crossguard being completely fire-free. Everyone but Daniel took a step back, even Qrow as he was carrying it before twisting the hilt again, putting out the flames. He sheathed the sword with excited, small gasps of air, the look in his eyes exactly the same as if a kid had been handed a basket full of candy. "If I didn't already have my own thing of beauty," Qrow claimed, "I wouldn't be handing back this thing." ( **AN: Nerd alert. Nerd alert- Fireflame's a nerd about his weapon.** )

Daniel took back his weapon with a bright grin. "That still may be a bit too overboard," Goodwitch huffed, still clutching her tablet against her chest.

"I prefer to use precocious," Daniel decided as he clipped his weapon back onto his back.

"No," Ruby argued with a small smile and a shake of her head, "It's definitely overboard. And you've seen my weapon, so overboard by my standards is tough to beat."

"And finally," Qrow continued, right in front of Yang, "The little sun dragon."

Yang was taking off her second gauntlet before Qrow stopped her. "I know what your weapon is," he reminded, "And I already know what I'm going to say."

Expecting praise, Yang put them back on with a smile.

"Have Ruby look at it. You're going to have to make a couple of adjustments."

Yang looked as if she had been slapped. "What did you say?" she growled.

"Miss Xiao Long," Goodwitch scolded.

Qrow held up a finger, silencing both of the girls. "Tell me," Qrow asked Yang, "What's the farthest distance you can hit an enemy accurately? Keyword: accurately."

With her head bowed, Yang mumbled out, "Forty-five feet."

Qrow let out an irritated breath. "Thought so," he concluded. Turning to his other red-hooded niece, he ordered, "Put a sort of attachment on Yang's weapon. Something that'll give her more range without taking away from her punch's power."

Ruby nodded, a bit startled by her uncle's bluntness. "Sure, Uncle Qrow," she replied, already thinking of two ways to solve her sister's 'issue'.

"Is that why you're here?" Yang questioned her uncle, "To criticize and inspect our weapons."

"Like hell that's all I'm here for," Qrow scoffed as he pulled out a flask. As he uncorked it, he said, "I'm here to train you four."

"You're what?" Yang exclaimed as the Hunter took a swig of his drink.

"Say goodbye to whatever you girls do in your free time," Qrow continued, "Your shopping trips, clubs, whatever; I'm giving you a crash course of two years of mercenary training in a few months."

The teens shuddered at the picture Qrow painted. "We will exclude you from any other missions and Combat Training," Goodwitch tried to calm them, "And in addition, we have pulled your name out of the roster for the Vytal Festival."

"What?" all five members exclaimed.

"That's unreasonable," Daniel exploded.

"How are you going to compete, anyway?" Qrow countered, "You four are going to be almost dead on your feet when you're through with my training, and you still have some training to do."

"Other training?" Yang groaned, "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't think we would just train you to swing a sword, did you?" Ironwood asked. Without waiting for a response, he continued, "We have asked a couple of Hunters and specialists to be your mentors. To hone your training and develop your Semblances further."

Before another word was said, a small _ding_ was heard as the elevator doors opened again. "Ah, Miss Schnee," Ozpin greeted politely, "Perfect timing."

Weiss spun around, a startled look dawning on her face as her teammates caught on slower than her. "Hello, Headmaster," Winter greeted with a slight bow. The white-haired specialist turned to Ironwood. "General Ironwood, sir," Winter greeted.

"Forgive me," Weiss gaped, "But why is my sister doing here?"

"She's your mentor," Ozpin replied with his hands propping up his chin, "And now we're waiting for one more to show up."

As they waited, Weiss exchanged a few excited words with her sister who replied back with a small, almost unnoticeable smile. A minute later, the elevator doors opened yet again, this time showing off a man in his mid-50's with a gray robe, salt-and-pepper hair, and startling red eyes. "Students," Ozpin announced with a smile, "I present to you an old friend of mine- Douglas Griswald."

The man smiled, his eyes twinkling with hidden knowledge. "How do you do?" he greeted with a small salute-like wave.

"Mister Griswald here has a… special Semblance, if you would," Ozpin went on, "If he gives you advice on how to progress your Semblance, I expect you to follow his directions."

"What is your Semblance?" Blake asked with a tilt of her head, her bow twitching madly.

With only a smile, Douglas walked over to the unprepared faunus and put both of his hands on her shoulders. A small silver-like glow appeared between his palm and Blake's skin as he closed his eyes. "Now that's an interesting one," he mused, "I haven't seen this Semblance in quite some time."

After the moment passed, Douglas jumped back, something in his expression reminding Daniel too much of a mad scientist about to commence an experiment. In a flash, Douglas snapped an arm to his side as he seemingly split in two. Both of them stared blankly at Blake who stumbled back in shock, a thin shadow-like wisp of smoke connecting the two. The Douglas on the left cracked a smile. "And that's my Semblance," he announced, "Now the real question is which one's the fake one?"

Blake's eyebrow hooked in confusion. "I'm pretty sure it's this one," she claimed, prodding the one that wasn't talking with her finger. In her amazement, her finger pressed against something solid. "What the…" Blake poked the figure again, mouth forming a perfect 'O'. She pushed the other figure of Douglas, and to her astonishment, it was also solid.

"You should probably stop," the Douglas Blake was poking beamed, making her jump back. Yang and the others laughed as the clones disappeared behind a cloud of black smoke, only to dissipate after a moment to show a single Douglas. "So who's next?" he asked while rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"You can copy Semblances?" Daniel exclaimed, eyes bulging out of his head.

"For about five minutes, yes," Douglas answered, "I've toyed with hundreds of Semblances over the years, so nothing is exactly new to me anymore." His hand stretched toward Yang like he was trying to give a handshake. "May I?"

Yang hesitated for a split second before eagerly clasping her hand against his. Douglas smiled as he stepped back, his eyes closed as if he was on cloud-nine. "Ah, this one," he breathed, "Fits you very well." Opening his eyes, Douglas informed, "I won't show you the extent of your abilities yet since they're a bit too destructive for a headmaster's office." He gestured around to the number of people and fragile objects in the room.

Yang nodded in understanding as Douglas finally stood in front of Daniel. "And I assume you're the last one?" he inquired, glancing briefly at Ruby.

Daniel shrugged. "I'm the last one you're going to train," he answered.

"Fair enough." Douglas closed his eyes yet again while taking Daniel's hand. Just as the glow started, Douglas jumped back with a giddy look. "Now that," he exclaimed, "That one's new to me. I haven't had the chance to use one of these Semblances before."

"Does that mean I'm on my own?" Daniel insisted.

"Quite the contrary, my dear boy," Douglas replied, resting a hand on Daniel's shoulder, "This means we'll have to learn together on the extent of your abilities."

Shooting the enthusiastic man a wry smile, Daniel turned back to the other adults in the room. "So what now?" he asked, "Are we supposed to train, waiting for the inevitable?"

"Of course not," Ozpin said, "The staff has been told of the situations bare details. Enough to know to be on the lookout. Meanwhile, every Hunter, Huntress, and specialist in this room will be trying to counteract this… infection in our system. Make no mistake," Ozpin turned his chair around, looking out the window overlooking Vale, "we are at war with a revolution."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

"Well," Yang started as they exited the elevator, stepping into a hallway full of students, "That was... something."

"That's an understatement and a half," Daniel scoffed as he groaned just from thinking about all the work they would have to do. "Our schedules are going to be nightmares." Daniel rubbed his eyes as the drowsiness of staying up for two days straight set in again. "I'm turning in early," he told the others while walking away. Abruptly, he froze in his tracks, remembering something he had to do. "Hey, Ruby."

Ruby looked at Daniel slightly wearily. "Yeah?" she responded.

Daniel walked over with a hand in his pocket. When he was directly in front of her, their noses almost touching, he took both of his arms and wrapped it around Ruby's neck. "What are you doing?" Ruby demanded, squirming in his hold.

"Hold still," Daniel chuckled as a small click went off. Before he took his hands away, Daniel leaned in and whispered, "Some things may be a lot of money, but you're the one that's priceless to me." And with that, Daniel made a mad dash down the hall before Ruby could come back out of her daze.

"Looks like love's still in the air," Yang commented with a knowing smirk. Confused, Ruby looked down at her collar. Her breath stopped as she reached up and tenderly touched the necklace Daniel returned. Ruby's mouth flopped open and close like a fish out of water as her friends couldn't help but snicker at her expression. "So," Yang sang after a short while, "when's the wedding?"

Ruby shook her head before glaring at her sister (which had the effect of a small puppy's death-stare). "Shut up," she huffed, but Ruby couldn't wipe the silly grin off her face as she skipped back to the dorms.

 **AN: And there's that- story progression. Joy. Hey guys, Fireflame here. And there's Chapter 23 down. There's plot development, character growth, more backstory (yay), and your little Rubiel moment (I did not coin that term. Blame Cinderlord for that).**

 **Holy cow, guys. 23 chapters (24 if you count the Winter thing), 32k views, 85 reviews, 131 followers, and 95 favorites. I... wow. I'm speechless. But sadly, all good things must come to an end... in May or so. We've still got 4 more chapters to go, and I have wayyyyy too many ideas to just go for 4 chapters. I mean, the ending alone's going to take two, and I still have to do the final fight, get Rubiel back to functioning, and so much stuff. Screw it, I'm taking this to June or even July. We're not done yet.**

 **Guys, please. The poll. Don't make me kill Blake, please. I Don't want to kill her off. I have 2 arcs for this story, and it'll be easier to save Blake. Or I could just save both. You never know.**

 **5 for Blake living, 7 for Weiss living.**

 **Anyway, review time.**

 **DePlexx: But I don't _want_ Weiss to die! I stabbed her in the leg, yes, but I didn't do nearly as much as I might do to some other characters (*cue evil laughter [Mercury and possibly Emerald]). It won't add more plot because it's not going to happen until the end! **

**Apolios: YO! YOU'RE BACK. Like hell, I'm writing this stuff with ease. In the last chapter, I had to take 4 cereal breaks in a 3-hour time span because I got so upset by not being able to find the correct words half the time. But you really couldn't find anything wrong with the last chapter? I'm surprised because I think I forgot a semi-important detail halfway through the chapter (Weiss is still running around, trying to find her lost luggage that I dropped randomly along the way). Also, Ruby's back to herself again... kinda. Rejoice!**

 **Cinderlord: Wow, my OC now has a ship name. And it's not that bad either. Rubiel... it works- I like it. Yes, I know the long explanation Daniel had to give was cut out, and that the emotion felt a bit lost in it, but I didn't really want to type the same explanation over and over again, and I know a few of you guys don't want to read it like that either. In other news, I got a bit too carried away with the name-calling, and yet I still had more in this chapter. Common theme? (*shrug) Possibly.**

 **TheGreenDooredBookshop: The one with the most votes survives. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. And indeed, I took a U-turn on emotion and went "train wreck" on a bunch of characters. Fingers crossed that I keep it that way right through the ending.**

 **And that's it! That's all I have to say. So, I'll see you guys in April!**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	26. Chapter 24: Gains and Losses

**Hey, welcome back to Wilting Rose! No, this is not an April Fool's joke. At least, not the entire thing. Actually, the only fool's-like thing about it is a... let's not spoil it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY and am not part of RT in any shape or form besides being a watcher of their content.**

Chapter 24: Gains and Losses

"Alright," Weiss huffed, turning in a circle at the middle of the arena, "Where's our teacher?"

The classes were over, and Team DWBY were stuck in one of Beacon's domed arenas, waiting for Qrow to show up at any time for their first lesson. "He's already four minutes late," Weiss seethed.

"Relax, Weiss," Yang assured, lazily sitting on one of the benches lining the walls of the circular room, "He's almost always like this- and I actually mean always."

Weiss let out an angry breath through her nose. "I don't know," Daniel came to Weiss's defense, "If we're supposed to be prepared for anything to happen at any time, shouldn't Qrow at least be ready for us?" He turned a small cube of metal over in his hand absentmindedly, leaning against the back wall, "We all have better things better to do."

Blake was her usual silent self, reading another one of her novels at the edges of the room while her ears perked every time someone spoke. As she was immersed in her book, she wasn't paying attention to a small barrel poking through a window high above their heads. Her only warning was an earsplitting _bang_ before a bullet was hurling towards her.

Looking up in horror, Blake didn't have time to move out of the way, but luckily for her she didn't have to. Before the bullet reached her, a metal wall formed out of the ground, the bullet ricocheting off and almost hitting Weiss in the process. The four teens scrambled into various stances with their weapons out, filling the room with the sound of gears humming and four sets of hearts pounding out of their ribcages.

While the four of them rushed to stand back to back in the center of the room, the entrance to the arena swung open as a familiar uncle stepped into the room with his weapon strewn across his back. "You kids are getting softer and softer these days, I swear," Qrow sniffed as he looked at the paranoid four.

Yang straightened out of her stance as she glared at Qrow. "What the hell?" she demanded, "You could've taken off Blake's head!" She emphasized her point by swinging her arm towards Blake's direction while her teammates all glowered at their "teacher".

Qrow shrugged lightly as he unscrewed his flask. "Not my fault you aren't paying attention," he claimed, raising his alcohol to his lips. Then, without warning, he spun around as another shot streamed towards him before bouncing off the blade protecting his back. Qrow nonchalantly took a sip before putting his drink back into his jacket. "See?" Qrow faced the flabbergasted teens who were all staring at Daniel, "Daniel's got the right idea."

Daniel snorted before putting down his own sheath-gun hybrid, the barrel still smoking. Weiss's eyes darted between the two violent males. "What is wrong with you people?" she shouted, "Haven't you ever heard of being courteous?"

"You're thinking of duels, Princess," Qrow corrected.

"Same thing," Weiss snapped.

"Wrong," Qrow shot back. He groaned as his head tipped back, a hand rubbing his face like he was already tired. "You guys have a long way to go." Qrow faced DWBY seriously, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Number one: I'm here to teach you how to _fight_ , not anything else; not dueling, not training, not anything but how to take down someone else. Number two:" he stared at Weiss especially, "if you want to survive, anything goes."

"That's barbaric," Weiss spat.

"It's life," Qrow declared, "Number three:" He stared at Blake this time, "be prepared for anything at any time. So far the only person that's starting to understand these rules is Daniel.

"Alright, here's your first test." Qrow walked forward while the four teens stood their ground. He stopped when he was just a few feet away from the glaring teens. Reaching into the inside of his jacket, Qrow pulled out his flask and made a big show of waving it around. "Take this away from me, any of you, and the person that grabs it walks out of here for the rest of the lesson."

Now that their interests were piqued, Qrow pushed his flask back into its rightful place in the left inside of his jacket as the four teens tracked it like a pack of hungry wolves. "Well?" Qrow asked as he drew his sword, beckoning them forward with his other hand, "Come and get it."

He might have been better off tossing a raw steak into a tiger pen because the four were on Qrow in an instant. Weiss was the first one to have a go at Qrow, and even from the start, it didn't look in her favor. With a small smirk, Qrow already predicted the lunge Weiss would perform and sidestepped it with ease, a small smirk donning his face, as he tripped her when she fumbled pass him. Yang was also easy enough to deal with as she threw a flurry of quick punches his way, each one either dodged or deflected with his blade without a second thought.

As blows rained down on him, Blake snuck around to his backside before leaping at Qrow, hungrily reaching out to his jacket. Almost like he had eyes on the back of his head, Qrow, threw himself back and down, skidding under Blake and away from Yang mid-punch as her fist sank into Blake's cheek. With a horrified look, Yang stared at Blake as she slammed into the ground before running to her side to help her partner up.

Qrow didn't have any time to care as he got to his feet while Weiss came back, this time sped up by her glyphs. The black-haired Hunter tried bouncing lightly on his feet but found out he couldn't, glancing briefly at the black glyph at his feet. Qrow clicked his tongue as he shook his head. Meanwhile, Weiss's rapier was a foot away from Qrow's jacket with the intent on cutting away his clothes to expose the flask. She didn't intend, however, for Qrow to duck down into a crouch as if he was preparing for a sprint. As Myrtenaster passed overhead harmlessly, Qrow shot forward, slamming into the poor girl's stomach with the force of a Boartusk.

Weiss was blown back, her concentration gone along with her wind as the glyphs she formed dissolved underneath Qrow. As Qrow was trying to get to his feet, though, he found his hands shackled and his feet bound together by the floor itself. He couldn't help but chuckle as Daniel walked up slowly, boots clicking against the floor as he looked up at the faunus's smug face. "I'll be taking this," Daniel said, reaching into Qrow's coat only to don a confused look. "What the…"

This time it was Qrow who had a smug expression as his hands shot out of the bonds like they were made of loose dirt, sinking the flat of his blade into Daniel's knee. Then, as Daniel was brought down to his other knee, the blade met his chin as his world went black for a few seconds.

When he was brought back to the real world, Daniel heard Qrow yell out, "Stop." Daniel sat up groaning, his jaw felt like someone had taken a steamroller and drove over his mouth. Slowly. When he looked around, all of his teammates were writhing on the floor in some sort of pain, even Yang, who was at Qrow's feet while nursing her chest.

"You all failed in a spectacular fashion," Qrow jested, sheathing his sword, "As soon as I said that only one of you could walk away, you all lost." Qrow looked at each and every single member as they stood up, groaning and cursing.

"Weiss," Qrow called out. Her eyes shot toward him with a look of circumstantial hatred. "Horrible. Selfishness, arrogance, anger, and sloppiness. That's all I was fighting. Fighting me one-on-one when you have three other teammates? Really? And without your posture and military precision when you swung wildly at me, you had nothing. For someone with that much diversity in their fighting style, you're too predictable.

"Yang." Yang looked up with a mix of interest and annoyance. "Communication. Your recklessness is going to get you killed if your teammates aren't watching your back. For that, you either get rid of your recklessness, not likely," This got an indignant, "Hey!" from Yang, "or you make sure your teammates have your back whenever you need it." And with a small mischievous smirk, Qrow added, "Punching your friends isn't going to help that either.

"Blake." Qrow had to stop and think before going on, "Not great. Your strategy was good, trying to get me from my blind spot. But yet again, you're getting greedy, and that led to you being sloppy. And again, you need communication."

By now, everyone but Daniel was up on their feet since he had taken two extremely painful hits. That and his knee felt like jelly. "And Daniel," Qrow called out. This time, a small admirable smirk made its way on his face. "Close. You probably could've done it faster if you had communication, but being solo, you didn't do badly. But," couldn't help but gawk as Qrow pulled out his flask from his sleeve, "you have to pay attention." Qrow took a well-deserved swig as he explained, "Sleight of hand and misdirection- two easy ways to keep your enemies on their toes."

And as a demonstration, Qrow mimicked his trick of hiding his hand behind his jacket as he snuck the alcohol into his sleeve. "Not entirely your fault for not catching that," Qrow went on, "but you can't get too ahead of yourself. Always have backup plans behind backup plans.

"So," Qrow clapped his hands together to wrap things up, "What did you all learn from this amusing lesson?"

"That you're an asshole?" Yang muttered.

Qrow nodded and replied, "Stating the obvious, but yes. Anything else?" When no one else answered, either because they were still in pain or they were trying to hold in angry thoughts that probably would've gotten them thrown out even a prison (Daniel was both), he went on, "You all have one goal, so help each other achieve it. You guys have to help each other, even if only one of you actually gets what you want. Second- be creative. That's why I wanted you, Yang," he gave his niece a pointed look, "to get something else. You punch stuff, great. But that's all you can do. Daniel was the closest, and Blake did decently, but you and the Ice Princess behind me," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the glowering individual. "I'll give the four of you five minutes of rest since this is day one, but you're going to have to learn fast- make your mistakes here while you can."

"But the test was to get the flask," Daniel protested with a grin. He held up a shiny silver flask, complete with Qrow's insignia on the side. "Can I leave?"

Qrow stared at him in surprise before shooting him an annoyed look. "Nice try, kid," he denied, "But you have to get the original." Qrow pulled out his actual flask from his sleeve and not Daniel's convincing replica. "And also, the test's over." Qrow pointed the flask at him, "Can't leave anymore."

This only made Daniel's grin broaden which made Qrow acquire a look of confusion. Without him realizing, Blake's roped blade knocked his flask out of his hand from behind. As Qrow fumbled forward to try and snatch it back, Daniel slammed his hands against the ground, using his Semblance to form a pillar right under Qrow's chin. The Hunter got a taste of what he did to Daniel as Daniel walked over and swiped away the flask. Qrow rubbed his now aching jaw as Daniel held up the flask in triumph. Then, he looked back at a smug cat faunus, reeling in her weapon nonchalantly.

"Both lessons learned," Daniel announced, "and Rule two followed; anything goes. Misdirection and sleight of hand learned as well."

Even with his jaw shooting rivulets of pain every time it moved, Qrow chuckled as he nodded, genuinely impressed. "Give me my drink back," he demanded as Daniel tossed him his flask. His hand switched from pointing to Daniel to Blake and back multiple times as he announced with a small smile, "You two: get out of my sight."

Daniel and Blake grinned as they gave each other a high-five before walking towards the exit, a small limp in Daniel's step. Qrow watched the pair leave with a shake of his head. "Freshmen," he scoffed as he unscrewed his drink, tipping its contents into his mouth. Nothing came out of it, however, making Qrow's eyebrows furrow together as he took another look at his flask. Realization set in quickly, his head snapping toward the closing door which briefly showed Daniel's smirking face staring back. "Daniel," Qrow shouted as he threw Daniel's replica flask against the heavy metal doors, a loud clang bouncing around the domed room.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Half an hour later, Yang and Weiss stumbled into their dorm room before collapsing onto their respective beds. Both groaned from various bruises as Blake patiently continued to flip through a book on her bed. "Training session went well, did it?" the faunus asked innocently.

"I officially hate you, Kitty Cat," Yang replied, her voice muffled by the pillow she buried her head into.

"So, it didn't go well?" Blake intoned, blinking at the two exhausted teammates.

"What do you think?" Weiss tried to growl, but midsentence a slight shift made her arm be pierced by a dozen invisible needles, clenching her teeth on instinct. "After you left, Qrow trained us like we were supposed to make up for you two. Not to mention his horrendous attitude when Daniel ran off with his drink, making this the worst training session I've ever taken." Weiss tilted her head towards her exhausted counterpart. "How can you stand your uncle?"

"He isn't this ruthless," Yang protested, "At least, not unless you're someone he hates or competing against him."

Blake's smug, fake-innocent expression evaporated as she sobered up. "The battlefield does that to people," she agreed cryptically.

Yang bashed her head against her pillow, trying to fluff it out. "By the way, where's Ruby?" she questioned.

Blake held up a small note with Ruby's writing before returning to her book. "Off to another session," she answered offhandedly.

Just as the words came out of her mouth, the door opened again. The three girls turned towards the red-hooded girl that walked in without a word, head covered and bowed so not even her face was showing. Ruby sulked over to her bed with her shoulders slumped, hopping up and curling up into a small ball at the head of her bed so her back was facing the others. "Ruby?" Yang called out, concern painted on her face, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ruby replied in a meek voice.

"Did…" Weiss started, "Did everything go alright during your treatment?"

"Sort of."

Blake narrowed her eyes as she started to piece a few things together. "Ruby, take off your hood," she suggested.

"No," she denied quickly, pulling her knees even closer to her chest.

"Come on, it's natural that this would happen sooner or later."

Yang took a small glance at her partner, eyeing Blake with an annoyed look. "Are you just going to keep egging her on or are you going to tell us what happened?"

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Outside, in the halls, Daniel was walking down to Team RWBY's dorm with Qrow's flask in hand. When he was reaching for the doorknob, a blood-curling screech rang from the other side of the door, causing him to jump out of his skin. In an instant, he was pounding away on the door, rattling the doorknob like mad. "Guys, is everything okay?" he demanded in a panicky voice.

"We're fine," Daniel heard Yang shout back, an amused undertone creeping in her voice.

"So, can I come in?"

"No," Ruby exclaimed, followed by a massive rustling sound like someone was fighting off a person.

Despite Ruby's words, Blake opened the door a crack, peeking through a small crack with a neutral expression. "Just…" she began before sighing, "Just don't judge her." She opened the door fully and stepped to the side as Daniel took a step forward.

With a slightly worried but determined gleam in his eyes, Daniel looked up at Ruby's bed. Yang's eyes glimmered with the same humorous she usually reserved for a horrible joke as she stared at her sister who was curled at the head of her bed, a mass of blankets covering her body. "Ruby," Yang sang out as she tried to pull the blanket away, "Daniel's here."

"Don't let him in," Ruby demanded, pulling the covers back over herself stubbornly.

"What's going on?" Daniel inquired as he stood on the frame of Weiss's bed, peering just over the edge of the bed.

Ruby poked her head out of her little fortress for just an instant before burrowing back into her little safe haven. Unfortunately, that brief second gave Daniel just enough insight for his jaw to almost audibly drop. "Oh," he breathed, "That happened."

With a defeated sigh, Ruby threw her blankets across the bed at Yang, finally giving everyone a good look at what happened. Yang sported a small grin, slightly ashamed at what she was laughing at, Weiss and Blake stared at her blankly, and Daniel was gaping like a fish on land. "You're-," Daniel sputtered softly, "You're-."

"I know," Ruby snapped, burying her hairless head into her knees. "I'm bald," she cried out, "It's horrible!"

Daniel tilted his head in consideration. "Eh," he diffused with a shrug, "Not really."

Ruby stole a peek at Daniel. "What?" she asked timidly.

For a few seconds, Daniel continued to examine the girl he loved. Sure, her baldness was different, but that's about all it made him feel- indifferent and not much else. "It's not that bad," Daniel claimed, hopping up to the top bunk. He let his legs dangle over the side as he stared at a teary-eyed Ruby. "I can't really say what you're feeling, but it doesn't really change much from my view."

Ruby's face met her knees again as she replied, "But I lost my hair, though!"

Daniel crawled over to embrace Ruby as she leaned against his chest. "And I lost my wings," he reminded. With a small wince, he unconsciously rolled his shoulders, feeling a phantom limb that used to be on his back. "Still feels awkward without them."

Ruby didn't budge as she snuggled further into Daniel's stomach as he tightened his hug. "It doesn't matter to us," he cooed, resting his chin against the top of her head, "It hasn't mattered to me, or Yang, or Weiss, or Blake, and I know for sure JNPR's not going to care."

"But what about everyone else?" Ruby sniffled, her voice muffled by the fabric of Daniel's shirt.

"Anyone that says otherwise is a jerk," Daniel declared, "And if they do say that to you, I give you permission to kick them in the shin."

"You're not my doctor," Ruby teased, her lightheartedness finally coming back into her voice, "You can't tell me to do stuff."

Daniel grinned as he rubbed circles into Ruby's back. "There's the Ruby I-we know and love," he said.

The other three girls had been silent up to that point, but now they all sported giant ear-to-ear smirks while they cooed at the same time, "Aww." Noticing their positions, Ruby jumped back out of Daniel's arms, her red face shining brighter than any star. Not knowing what to do with his arms, Daniel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Get a room, you two," Yang teased before a pillow slammed into her face, almost knocking her off the bed.

Ruby huffed as her throwing arm came back to hug her knees close to her chest. "I hate my sister," she grumbled to Daniel who boomed out a laugh.

"Love 'ya too, sis," Yang shot back along with the pillow.

As the sisters started to bicker lightly, a loud rustle was heard at the door as Team JNPR rushed through the open door. "Is everything alright?" Pyrrha asked, "We heard someone screech." And then she glanced up at Ruby's bed, watching with an indifferent look. "Oh," she quietly breathed.

The others in her team looked up with various reactions; Ren froze up for an instant before shrugging and surveying if they had any damages they had to clean up, and Jaune had a similar reaction as Daniel's, his mouth flopping open and close every few moments. Nora, on the other hand, was already up on the top bunk as she pestered Ruby with questions while Yang hopped off before the bed collapsed on top of Weiss's. "Ooh, what happened? Is it permanent? How long do you think it will take to grow back?"

As a sort of escape from the questions, Ruby threw herself into Daniel's arms while the surprised faunus almost toppled over from the unexpected force. "Nora," Ren called out.

The girl in question stopped mid-rant, looking back with a bright smile. "Yes, Ren?" Nora quipped.

"Please," Ren grunted as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "don't pester Ruby so much. It must be hard on her already."

"Okay," Nora chirped happily before hopping down.

Ruby took her face out of Daniel's chest and coyly glanced at the four new people. "Hey," she greeted meekly.

Jaune blinked, at a loss for words. "So," he managed out, "does this usually happen to people with cancer or…?"

"It happens to people who take chemo, according to the doctors," Ruby groaned, "I was hoping it was just going to be the bangs, though."

Pyrrha tilted her head in consideration, making Ruby ever more anxious by the second. "Is that all the surprises you have?" she asked.

Ruby nodded. "Yep," she affirmed, "Nothing else." Under her breath, she mumbled, "Hopefully."

From her response, Pyrrha shrugged. "I don't see a problem," she concluded.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened after Pyrrha's announcement. Then, the redhead found herself tackled by a hug from Ruby who clung onto her with a bright grin. "Thank you," she whispered.

Pyrrha gave her a weird but genuine smile as she hesitantly patted her on the back. "My pleasure?" she responded in a quizzical tone.

With that, the tension surrounding the group of friends evaporated as everyone donned a bright smile. "Alright," Jaune chuckled as he lightly tugged Ruby away from his partner, "Let's stop before it gets awkward." Ruby pulled away as she rubbed the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. "Right," Jaune continued, "Crisis averted, so let's head back to our room, right guys?" He was treated to a collection of weird looks. "Guys?" Jaune repeated, a bit more unsure.

Daniel cracked the blonde a smirk. "You have to stop hanging out so much with Pyrrha," he informed, "She's been rubbing off on you."

"Excuse me?" Pyrrha exclaimed, a bit scandalized.

Daniel glanced nervously at the inflamed girl. Then, his smirk returned as her intentions were brought up unconsciously. "On second thought," he backtracked with a teasing undertone, "Spend as much time with her as you like."

Jaune raised an eyebrow in confusion, but Pyrrha had a completely different reaction. Her cheeks tinted with red so much that it matched the color of her hair. "I-," she sputtered out, "I…" And without another word, she was out the door, slamming in Jaune's face.

Still not knowing what was going on, Jaune turned around back at a group of teens with Cheshire grins. "What just happened?" he questioned, blinking rapidly as he tried to process the last few moments.

Nora was at Jaune's side as she draped an arm over his shoulders, shaking her bowed head in mock disappointment. "Jaune," she said condescendingly, "Jaune, Jaune, Jaune, Jaune- you are so clueless." She led him out the door with Ren following shortly behind. Even out of eyesight, RWBY and Daniel could hear Nora continue, "You have so much to learn."

The five remaining all exchanged mischievous glances. "Five Lien says that Pyrrha is the one that kisses Jaune," Daniel betted.

"Not taking that," Yang denied lightly, "Jaune's so clueless he'd have to be serenaded and told literally by everyone in Beacon before he takes the hint."

"No question about it," Ruby joked. Then, with a finger pressed against her chin, she mused, "Then again, Pyrrha's too shy to actually do that."

"True," Blake joined in with a feline-ish grin.

"Are you four really doing this?" Weiss criticized with a serious expression. Then, a hint of a smile snuck its way onto her lips. "Very well, I'll put five Lien on Pyrrha kissing Jaune."

"That's the spirit," Ruby boomed with a laugh, "I'll take you up on that!"

"I can already tell this is going to get out of hand," Daniel cautioned as he stifled a laugh, "I'll see you four tomorrow." He crawled to the edge of the bed before stopping, letting his legs dangle over the side. Without warning, he snapped around, leaned over and pecked Ruby on the nose. "Bye, Rubes," he teased, jumping off and rushing out the door.

Four pairs of eyes followed Daniel as he left the room, then three of them settled on Ruby who continued to stare at the doorway with a giddy grin. After a complete minute of staring, Ruby turned back to her teammates, her grin turning into one of embarrassed horror. "Are you sure you two aren't together again?" Yang teased, "Sure looks like it."

"We aren't," Ruby exclaimed, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

"Sure," Blake drawled, rolling her eyes with knowing smirk.

"We aren't," Ruby repeated while she covered her face with her hands.

"That's believable," Weiss remarked.

"Guys," Ruby groaned.

"I'll give it two days, tops," Yang bet the other two girls, "Anyone taking me up on the offer?"

"No deal," Blake replied as she went back to reading her novel.

"Sorry," Weiss denied, "You're just stating the obvious."

Ruby buried her face into a pillow to muffle a scream, mixed with anger, embarrassment, and a small trace of humor. "This is too easy," Yang chuckled.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

The next day, Daniel met up with Yang and Blake in the same arena, ready for their next torturous lesson. He looked around the premises before asking them, "Where's Weiss?"

"Semblance training today," Yang replied with a slight sigh, "At least Qrow's not teaching us."

"Thank the heavens for that," Blake exasperated.

"Hopefully Mr. Griswald's is easier than Qrow," Daniel grumbled.

"Well," Griswald announced as he walked into the arena, making the three in the room turn toward him, "Depends on your definition on 'easier'." A polite smile appeared on his elderly face. "Hello, children," he greeted in a chirpy tone, "Ready to go to war?"

Daniel shrugged. "If you're here to teach us, then we probably aren't," he hypothesized.

Griswald waved him off. "Never mind. So, you're probably wondering how I'm going to train your Semblances." The three teens nodded, "Well, it's a sort of spiritual thing. You understand yourself, you understand your Semblance. To evolve your Semblance, you have to evolve yourself. Any questions?"

All three hands went up from the three confused teammates. "What do you mean by evolve?" Daniel asked first.

"Well, there's no such thing as actually changing your Semblance," Griswald answered, "To do that, you'd need to be an entirely new person. There's only evolving or adding onto what your Semblance already does. I'll put it this way- if your Semblance is Fire, you can't make water, but you can make harmless light. Or smokeless fire."

Daniel nodded while Griswald spoke, but Blake's hand still remained in the air. "How are we supposed to train, then?" she asked.

"You don't necessarily train a Semblance, you adjust it. Weiss is a special case with her glyphs, and that's why her sister is teaching her." Griswald started making wild gestures as he continued, "Semblances are based off personality and character. So, change the personality, and you change the Semblance. The easiest and most effective way to change a personality is through acceptance."

"Acceptance?" Blake echoed.

"Accepting yourself for who you are and building upon it," Griswald replied, "Tell me, Blake, what is the extent of your Semblance as of now?"

Looking just a bit shy, Blake answered, "Shadow clones that can take a hit for me."

Griswald shook his head in slight disappointment. "You're going to have to be braver," he suggested, drawing out a judgmental look from Blake, "That's only the shallowest side of what your Semblance can do. You saw my version of yours, how I made two literal versions of myself. You have to embrace every aspect of yourself. Only embracing the fact that you are cowardly is what gives you your version of this type of Semblance." He spread his arms out to summarize things, "Thus, acceptance is the solution."

"What about mine?" Yang asked, her curiosity grabbed by the man's words, "Mine is supposed to be every time I'm hit, I hit harder."

Griswald tilted his head in thought, a distant gleam in his eyes. "Don't continue to draw your power from anger," he suggested after a few moments, "Try to draw it from every emotion you have." From Yang's confused look, he explained, "If you're punched, what's your initial response, usually? Anger. And that's how your Semblance is fueled."

Yang's mouth formed a perfect 'O' as things cleared up just a bit for her. "And mine?" Daniel inquired, "What's the best I can do?"

Griswald turned to Daniel as his smile turned into a thin line. "I don't know," he admitted, "Your Semblance is unique to me. The only thing I could relate it to is a couple of Hunters and Huntresses that can manipulate the elements. And that's a stretch on its own right." He shrugged in defeat, "Sorry, but we're going into yours blind."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Yang commanded with a clap. The others turned to her donning a giddy smirk. "Let's get started."

 **-xXxXxXxXxXx-**

"So," Yang said as she stretched out her arms in front of a line of punching bags, "How do we start?" Daniel was in the corner as he concentrated on creating different things out of random materials while Blake was practicing her cloning.

Mr. Griswald stretched his hand out towards the blonde. "Your hand, if you would." When he now had Yang's Semblance, Griswald took back his hand as he stepped up to a punching bag. "You say you're only able to increase your strength when you get hit, correct?" Yang nodded. With a small knowing smirk, Griswald went on, "What if I said you can increase it no matter what you do- as long as you're fighting, anyway."

Yang's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "How do you do it?" she demanded, "The only way I can see that working is if I someone try and injure myself every time I try and attack."

"Your emotions and feelings power your Semblance," Griswald explained as he experimentally started to punch the bag in front of him, "Yours, Yang, mainly stem from your anger during battle. If you can draw from other emotions, say elation, or feelings, like pride, you can theoretically pull strength from anything."

"Cool," Yang acknowledged, "But how am I supposed to do that?"

A response was not given back for a minute or so as Griswald continued to punch away at the bag. "I'll show you," he said eventually, "Can you steady this for me?" Griswald put a hand on the bag and waited for Yang to get behind it, steadying it at arms-length. "This is all my force," Griswald announced before slamming his fist into the bag.

A grunt was heard from behind the punching bag as Yang steadied herself from the hard punch. "Ready?" Griswald asked as Yang stood firm.

"Yep," Yang announced, shuffling her feet slightly in anticipation.

"And here's full force again." This time Griswald hit the bag with almost twice his normal strength. Yang, unable to handle the sudden shift in power, had the bag forced into her stomach as she was thrown off her feet, landing on her rear hard. "You see?" Griswald beamed as he stepped around the bag, "This is what you can do." He reached down to pull Yang up onto her feet. "You want to get started?"

An excited gleam sparked in the back of Yang's lilac eyes. "Let's go," she exclaimed giddily.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

A day later, Daniel strolled down the hallway to RWBY's room in higher spirits. Without having the feeling of completely drained as Yang and Weiss felt while training under Qrow. With Griswald, it was a sense of tiring satisfaction, like how a person would feel after a long and hard day, knowing they had achieved something. Not feeling like you had the energy to do one more single thing that day but yet still had the feeling of pride- that's what the four's training was like.

Daniel stood in front of the dorm room, knocking three times. "Hey, guys," Daniel yelled to the occupants, "Come on, breakfast's almost over."

With a slow creak, the door swung open, revealing a Yang Daniel had only seen once before- right after she had been told Ruby had cancer. Her luscious blonde hair was ruffled and untamed, seeming to lose a good portion of its luster. The clothes she wore bore wrinkles like they had been kept in a crumpled pile for weeks, and her naturally vivid lilac eyes seemed more of a stormy, bloodshot eggplant color. "What happened to you?" Daniel exclaimed, recoiling back unconsciously.

"Ruby," Yang choked out before another sob wracked her body. Composing herself, she cried, "Ruby's gone." Yang collapsed into a stunned Daniel's chest, letting the tears roll free. Daniel barely registered the girl crumbling into his ribs as his body stiffened and numbed, closing all feeling off from inside.

 **AN: Yep. That's how this chapter ends. And that's how the story ends. This is the end of Wilting Rose… I say that on April Fool's day. But seriously, that's the end of the chapter. The end of Ruby? Maybe… (Yeah, definitely not).**

 **Hey guys, Fireflame here. So, there you have it. Qrow's back and he's a sadistic trainer, there's a new OC, Ruby's bald and pseudo-dead, and the plot's rolling along. Everything's coming to a close, but the poll still has 1 chapter left.**

 **7 votes for Weiss to live, and 5 votes for Blake to live. Still no change.**

 **Quick thing I want to say about the poll: the poll is actually going to matter. I've got like 3-4 endings planned out, and there's 1 that's a "fairy tale happy" ending, where everyone good survives and everyone bad gets locked up or whatever. Everything else, there's at least one sacrifice.**

 **And now, review time!**

 **ClyxicRyse: One thing I should straighten out- I completely fumbled the last Author's Note in the last chapter. I wanted to see Blake win because Blake is better than Weiss in my book.**

 **But I wanted to put up the poll for 2 reasons. One, it gave you guys a voice in the story, and I wanted input from you guys. If I was going down a path I thought was cool but you didn't, I wanted you to have that opportunity to correct it. The cancer thing was an exception; that was happening no matter what.**

 **Two, I wanted a challenge. I wanted to see if I could make multiple scenarios to how something would play out and if I could write them. Simple as that.**

 **DePlexx: Yep, it's closing in the last couple of chapters. Not gonna lie, I'm actually really sad about it. The story was a big part of me this year and finishing it is like saying goodbye to a friend one last time. I'm still going to be writing, but this story… it's on its last stretch.**

 **ThatGreenDooredBookshop: Yeah, Emerald isn't one I'm planning to necessarily kill. Harm, definitely, but not kill. What train wreck did you entail, by the way? The one where everything goes to crap? Because that was more like a spectacular car crash than anything. And the training regiment. Sorry if Griswald's training was cut short- I just ran out of ideas on how to train Daniel's and Blake's. On the subject of him, Griswald's just a Griswald OC. Nothing to do with Dishonored. Sorry man.**

 **Guest** (Back in Daniel's bio) **: Black is going to be reoccurring for a bunch of my work. I've got the hard mind of thinking there's no light without dark, Ying without Yang, yada, yadda, yadda. It's sort of like how Daniel pulls Ruby away from her imagination of darkness, and in turn, Ruby pulls Daniel away from a reality of darkness. Balance is extremely key for me.**

 **And that's it! Chapter 24. Let's make it all the way through to the end, huh? Thanks for reading, and if you've been here since 2016, thank you for continuing to stick with this story.**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	27. Chapter 25: Progression and Satisfaction

**Welcome everyone to chapter 25 of Wilting Rose! It's going to be quite an experience- we've got fighting, fluff scenes, plot development, character development, and a murder. …Okay, maybe not that last one, but close enough, right?**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine, technically. Well, the idea is sorta, the materials I used aren't, obviously. RoosterTeeth gave us an amazing cast, and I just threw their plot out the window because why not.**

" _W4W: Life is a minefield. Life is a storm. Honestly, that's what it is. It's trials, one right after another, right after another. But that's what makes it beautiful. In our brokenness, we are more beautiful than before, it is when we are damned that we are the most beautiful. So why not dance in the minefields? Why not sail in the storms?_ " -Luna_Incendia14, _Heart by Heart_ ( **If you haven't figured it out, this is one of the stories that I just never was able to let go of** )

Chapter 25: Satisfaction and Progress

It was barely a minute in the afternoon when Ruby climbed the stairs back to her room. As she landed on her floor, however, she had a sudden thought pop into her mind, making her climb another floor up to Daniel's room. Ruby wanted to surprise him with… actually, she didn't know why she was walking up to Daniel's room. Maybe just a gut feeling. Even as she tried to tell herself this, butterflies kept crawling around in her stomach right up until she was in front of his door, anxious but very much excited.

Ruby rapped her knuckles against the door, knocking along to a small tune she sung in her head. She stepped back and waited, a small smile gracing her lips as she bounced on the balls of her feet. After what felt like an eternity, the door slowly creaked open with Daniel's familiar blue eye, but it felt oddly out of place. His bright, sky blue eye was now a dark, droopy, almost violet color. When he realized who was outside his room, the eye visible to Ruby shot wide open as the door swung open, revealing a barely lit room even though it was the middle of the day.

"Hey, Danie-," was all of Ruby's greeting as she was pulled in forcefully by the collar of her hood before she was slammed into a wall. Ruby let out a yelp of pain before a hand covered her mouth, muting her shouts while another hand grabbed her wrists, a blue glow forming along them as Ruby felt her arms being strapped to the wall by some unknown bonds. She felt the hand on her face being taken off as she struggled to breathe, just as the light from the doorway was choked off when the shadows seemed to close the door on its own.

"D-," Ruby sputtered as she looked around in fear, "Daniel?"

"This," a shaky but malicious voice sounded in front of Ruby. There he was; Daniel took furious breaths as his shoulders heaved from his contained rage. "This is a sick joke, even by your standards," he seethed, walking forward with a small crystal in his right hand. The Dust almost shattered by the force of Daniel's fist clamping down on it.

"Daniel," Ruby exclaimed, recoiling back, "W-what are you doing?"

"Who are you?" Daniel demanded, coming almost nose to nose with Ruby. She could feel his hot breath rolling onto her face in waves as she stared into eyes lively for all the wrong reasons. "I'll ask again: who are you?"

"W-what?" Ruby stammered, now visibly shaking, "It's me, Ruby!"

"Bullshit," Daniel spat as he took a step back, "Ruby's dead unless you and your friends missed that."

"Wait," Ruby interrupted, officially and utterly confused, "What?"

"Didn't you hear?" Daniel asked mockingly, "Ruby's dead. So unless you want to pop out of your disguise," Daniel stepped forward while holding the crystal up for Ruby to see, "I'll have the most fun I've had all day."

"But I'm not dead," Ruby shouted back, desperation swimming in her eyes.

"Sure," Daniel drawled, rolling his eyes while a steaming breath came out of his nose.

"I'm not," Ruby yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you, Daniel?"

"Alright, say that the Ruby I know isn't dead," Daniel mused, pacing around the room. He pointed straight at her neck. "What are those gems?"

"Red diamonds," Ruby answered instantly.

Daniel's eyes widened as horrified realization devoured him. "Oh shi- Ruby, I'm so sorry," he rushed out, running to her side and taking off her bonds. "I'm so sorry," Daniel rambled with shaking hands, "Yang said you were dead, and I remembered someone we're having to fight could make me see and hear what they wanted to, and so-."

 _Smack_. A red handprint appeared on Daniel's cheek as his head whipped back from the force. "I deserve that," Daniel spoke as he cowered from the enraged girl.

Ruby stepped forward, a furious expression covering her face, as she threw another punch at Daniel, hitting him repeatedly on the arm. With every punch, a word was also thrown at him. "What," Ruby growled through gritted teeth, "The. Hell. Is. Wrong. With. You!"

Without warning, Daniel leaped out of his defensive curled form and embraced Ruby in a tight hug. "Get off me," Ruby demanded, pushing away as Daniel nuzzled his face into Ruby's shoulder.

"You can't leave me," Daniel whimpered, making Ruby stop her onslaught to listen, "I thought you died. They said they would kill you to get to me, and that's what I didn't want. You can't die." Ruby felt the tears wet her shoulder, stunning her.

After some agonizing heartbeats, Ruby smiled sadly as she wrapped her arms around Daniel, patting him on the back. "But I'm alive," she calmed, "I'm here, aren't I?"

Daniel continued to cry into her shoulder for the next minute as his sorrow slowly turned into relief. Stepping back, he held Ruby at arm length like he still couldn't believe she was here. "How… how are you alive, though?" he asked.

Ruby's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What do you mean? I wasn't dead in the first place."

"Well," Daniel explained, wiping a stray tear away with his sleeve, "Yang got a call from Jaune saying you were dead. He said you-." Daniel choked up at just the mere thought while Ruby collapsed onto him for another hug, grounding him back to reality.

As Ruby snuggled further into Daniel, while he did the same, she started to ponder what Daniel was saying. After a brief second, she sighed in annoyance. "Jaune, you're a freaking idiot," she groaned.

"What?" Daniel questioned, pulling away just enough to look down at the sick girl.

Ruby thumped her head against Daniel's chest, letting out another tired groan. "I know what he did," Ruby claimed.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

 _Jaune and Pyrrha were both in the hospital to comfort Ruby since her teammates were busy with their training. Ruby didn't go by herself because Jaune and Pyrrha pestered her to join… and that every time she walked through Vale, she couldn't help but feel like every single pair of eyes was focused at her shining, hairless head._

 _"I still don't understand why your team is working so hard," Pyrrha commented again, "They train as hard as they already are, and yet they still take every day to run to the training arenas?"_

 _Ruby shrugged as guilt slowly nagged at her already deteriorating stomach. "Maybe they just want to make up for when I get back?" she offered._

 _"But they don't have to exhaust themselves," Jaune replied, adding onto Pyrrha's point, "Yang can barely keep her head up in class, which isn't really new, but now Weiss is starting to do it."_

 _Ruby shrugged where she laid, running out of covers for her team. "I don't know," she conceded._

 _That put_ _an end to the conversation for a few uncomfortable minutes. "So," Jaune drawled as he twiddled his thumbs in his seat, "How does it feel?"_

 _"How does what feel?" Ruby asked, laying in a hospital bed while she waited for the all-clear from her doctor._

 _"Just," Jaune paused, thinking how to word it so he wouldn't be slapped by one of the two girls, "How does everything in general feel like? About cancer?"_

 _Ruby stared at the ceiling as she sighed, wondering what she truly felt._ ( **AN: I'm firing from the hip for a little bit. This is not something I've experienced or want to experience.** ) _"It doesn't really feel like I'm… dying," Ruby mused with a distant look in her eyes, "It just feels like a bad stomach ache with some nasty…"_

 _"Symptoms?" Pyrrha offered._

 _"Yeah, that," Ruby agreed offhandedly, "I feel the same. I just feel like me on any other day, but a bit sicker." Ruby sighed in defeat, "I guess this really is just any other day for me."_

 _Jaune and Pyrrha both winced when they almost feel the conceding tone in her usually optimistic voice. "Well, at least you can brag about being a Huntress that fought on two fronts," Jaune encouraged._

 _"Yeah," Ruby managed out, her eyes fixated on the ceiling as her breathing became more controlled and shallower._

 _"Ruby?" Pyrrha called out, concern written all over her face, "Are you okay?"_

 _"Mm-hmm," Ruby hummed out as her face started turning blue._

 _"Ruby," Jaune exclaimed, jumping out of his chair and leaning over Ruby's bed, "What's wrong?"_

 _"Can't breathe," Ruby said, panic seeping into her voice as her fists clamped down on the blanket covering her._

 _Jaune turned around to a horrified Pyrrha. "Go get someone," Jaune commanded, his murky blue eyes betraying his voice's stability. Pyrrha nodded and rushed out the door as Jaune turned back to Ruby. Not knowing what to do, Jaune paced around the room, his head in his hands while he occasionally stole panicked glances at Ruby._

 _After the longest half-minute of their lives, Pyrrha finally sprinted back in the room, followed by a stone-faced Dr. Treuse and three other doctors following behind. Jaune was shoved out of the way as the doctors started fiddling with machines next to Ruby's bed while Dr. Treuse hovered over her, asking question after question as Ruby struggled to concentrate on anything but the pain in her chest._

 _A few heart-pounding minutes later, the tension in Dr. Treuse's shoulders relaxed as she turned to the stunned teens accompanying Ruby. "You should probably head back to wherever you need to go," she suggested, "We're going to have to clear you out, anyway, to take away any distractions from Miss Rose's recovery. Apparently, she had an unknown allergic reaction with one of her treatments."_

 _Pyrrha nodded while Jaune continued to stare at a now unconscious Ruby. "We understand," Pyrrha answered for the both of them. She tugged gently on Jaune's arm as he was slowly dragged away. "Come on- we have to tell Team DWBY about this."_

 _"Yeah, alright," Jaune sighed, finally averting his eyes and taking out his scroll. Through his contacts list, he picked out Yang's number and called it. Three rings later, a familiar voice picked up. "_ Hello? _"_

 _"Hey, Yang," Jaune started, "Listen… Ruby had a… reaction with her treatment. She's not coming back today."_

 _Silence. "Yang?" Jaune called out._

 _"_ Yeah, okay, _" Yang's voice replied, drained of energy as if she had gone another round with Qrow in the past heartbeat. Her voice cracked as she went on, "_ I- I got it. _"_

 _"Alright," Jaune drawled, confusion hinted in his tone, "I'll see you guys tomorrow then." He hung up, pocketed his scroll, and walked side by side with Pyrrha back to Beacon, not knowing Yang and the other girls were bawling at their supposed loss._

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx**

"That's probably what he did," Ruby ended her story, a slightly amused but frustrated tone creeping into her voice. Daniel didn't speak for a good minute as he continued to hold Ruby in his arms. Ruby pulled away, worry plastered on her face as she stared at her faunus. "Daniel?"

Daniel clicked his tongue while shaking his head. The only thing that came out of his mouth was, "Dead."

"No, I'm right here," Ruby reminded, her eyes narrowing.

"Not you," Daniel snapped, pushing Ruby gently to the side as he stormed out the door, "Jaune is."

A horrified yet amused image of Jaune running away from Daniel filled Ruby's mind as she sprinted after him. Ruby stood in front of Daniel, hands placed on his chest to try and stop his rampage. "Daniel," Ruby called with a small chuckle under her breath, "Calm down."

"Sorry, Ruby," Daniel growled as he trudged on, "No can do."

"Daniel, come on. Stop!"

"Ruby, Jaune just can't get away with- _mmph_."

Daniel was cut off short when Ruby cupped her hands roughly around Daniel's cheeks, pulling him down and silencing him with a kiss. When she pulled away, Daniel gaped at her like a fish out of water, the shock registering quite well on his face. "You- you…"

"Yes, I did," Ruby affirmed with a small, almost unnoticeable grin, "Now could you just shut up a- _mmph_."

Now it was Daniel's turn to flip the tables on Ruby as he muffled whatever she was trying to say with a kiss of his own. He wrapped her up with his arms around her waist as Ruby's eyes went wide before she slowly melted, draping her arms around his shoulders as she deepened the kiss. When they pulled away, both had goofy, love-struck grins. "Or," Ruby breathed, her eyes glazing over slightly, "you could do that."

Daniel bumped their foreheads together, eyes just inches from one another as the two stared into the others'. "You do not know how long I've wanted to do that," Daniel claimed giddily.

For an answer, Ruby leaned in again, this time with a kiss they were both expecting. As their lips parted, Ruby giggled. "I think I do," she disagreed.

"So," Daniel started, pulling apart but still holding onto Ruby's hand, "Would you like to accompany me down to your room as your boyfriend?"

Ruby giggled at Daniel's formality and replied with her own, "Well, only as your girlfriend."

And the deal was sealed with a small kiss from Daniel as the couple skipped down the stairs, down the halls, and stood in front of Team RWBY's dorm room. Daniel knocked a small tune into the door before thinking quickly and nudging Ruby just out of eyesight from the doorway. Ruby gave Daniel a quick, annoyed glance before the door opened, revealing a disheveled Yang. "Hey, Daniel," she tried to greet in an upbeat tone, but the tiredness in her eyes and her slouch took away anything positive in her voice.

"Hey, Yang," Daniel replied back in a cheery tone, "I think I found a girl you might enjoy me dating." Yang's droopy eyes burned with an angry fire as she thought about how Daniel could move on from her sister so quickly. "Here she is," Daniel ended with a grin, pulling Ruby into Yang's sight. He draped his arms over Ruby's shoulders as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

Ruby stepped back as she was put under Yang's glare, but it didn't last long. Yang's eyes widened in shock before they started to water. Then, thinking it was some joke, the tears kept falling as her breaths quickened, the gauntlet on her wrist arming itself as her knuckles turned white, a fist forming while shaking in anger. "Red diamond," Daniel offered Yang, reassuring that it was truly them and not an imposter.

And with that, Yang broke down. She tackled her sister, exclaiming Ruby's name as the younger sister hit the ground (Daniel dodged to the side, that traitor), unable to stand up from Yang's hug. Weiss and Blake came out of the room, standing at the doorway to see what Yang was excited for. Their eyebrows shot up when their eyes laid on their fiery blonde teammate essentially strangling her sister to death with a bearhug as Ruby squirmed around in her vice-like grip. Yang buried her face into Ruby's shoulder, tears seeping out in relief as Ruby, even though she was elated as well, kept panicking and flailing around as her face turned red.

Daniel laughed while he leaned against the wall, smirking at Ruby's happy predicament. "So that's what Yang's bearhugs look like," Daniel mused. Weiss and Blake snapped their heads toward Daniel, eying him critically in case this was all fake. "What are you waiting for, Snowflake?" Daniel reassured the two before they pounced onto the girls already on the ground.

When Team JNPR climbed up the stairs a minute later, they were greeted with quite a sight- three girls squealing and laughing as tears streamed down their faces in a group hug as the last one struggled for air in the center, all while Daniel stood off to the side while he grinned like a madman. "Should we even ask?" Pyrrha asked, raising an eyebrow at Daniel who greeted them with a wave.

"Probably not," Daniel answered.

"Oh, can I join?" Nora exclaimed, eying the group hug with interest.

"Nora," Ren replied calmly, "I'm pretty sure this is a personal thing."

"Aw," Nora whined with a pout, "I wanted to join."

Then, Daniel's eyes laid on Jaune as his amused expression sobered up in an instant. "You're a dead man, Jaune," he warned.

Jaune stepped back at his words. "W-why?" he stammered.

Daniel sighed Jaune's obliviousness. "Jaune, repeat word for word what you told Yang last night."

"Ruby had a… reaction with her treatment. She's not coming back today," Jaune repeated with a confused expression.

Daniel just had to wait patiently as Jaune's expression turned into one of sad realization. "I'm an idiot," he belittled himself, cupping his hands over his face. Pyrrha patted his back in comfort, a small half-wince, half-smirk playing on her lips.

"Yes, you are," Daniel remarked. He turned to the girls still in a group hug. "Hey, girls. Jaune's here."

Team RWBY's small happy bubble suddenly burst as Ruby was finally let go of, allowing her to breathe for the first time in minutes. The other three girls glared at Jaune with empty eyes, making the poor boy stumble back even further so he seemed to hide behind his teammates. "Jaune," Ren warned.

"Yeah?"

"Run."

"Got it." And with that, Jaune was already down the stairs, running for his life as Yang, Weiss, and Blake chased the blonde like wolves after a deer.

Daniel grinned as the teams' usual antics came back with full force. Behind him, Ruby was still panting as she walked next to Daniel, staring at the stairs where Jaune's yelps of horror came from. "We should probably stop them before they actually kill Jaune," she chided, leaning against Daniel's side.

Daniel draped an arm over his girlfriend's shoulders. "Why not join them?" he joked.

Ruby gave Daniel a pointed look. "Not funny," she opined.

"You're right." Without a warning, Daniel scooped up Ruby in a bridal-style as the red-hooded girl yelped in surprise before shooting Daniel an annoyed look. "It would be hilarious," Daniel teased before sprinting after Jaune and the other girls, Ruby still in his arms as she squealed, burrowing her face into Daniel's shoulder.

The rest of Team JNPR just stared at the situation that passed before them with blinking eyes. "We should chase after them," Nora suggested after a moment.

Ren nodded. "We probably have to save Jaune from the girls," he agreed.

"Who said anything about saving him?" Nora asked, glancing at Ren briefly, "I was going to join them."

"Nora," Pyrrha exclaimed while Ren shook his head, head bowed and eyes closed, but a smile still quirked on his lips. And then the three set off after the girls screaming bloody murder at Jaune, who was most likely running for his life literally.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

"You still didn't have to go that overboard with Jaune's punishment," Pyrrha chided Team DWBY. She was currently supporting Jaune who had an arm slung over Pyrrha's shoulders, panting hard as if he just ran from Vale to Mistral- the long way.

"He made us think Ruby was dead," Daniel waved off.

"I think I learned by the second punch," Jaune winced, nursing a swollen cheek.

"You guys really did overdo it," Ruby agreed, glaring slightly at her teammates who shot back a couple of indifferent shrugs.

Daniel planted a kiss on Ruby's cheek, turning her stern glare into a bright lovestruck smile in a blink of an eye. "Sorry, Rubes," Daniel apologized, walking behind her as he draped his arms around Ruby's shoulders.

Ruby closed her eyes while Daniel guided the pair down the hallway as they ignored the smirks from their friends. After a moment, Ruby hummed out, "Not forgiven."

Daniel threw his hands into the air in mock frustration which drew a laugh from Ruby, quickly resulting in a hug for Daniel's side. Daniel gave the red-hooded girl a one-armed hug before jokingly whined, "Don't do that to me- you're not allowed to toy with my emotions."

"Hmm," Ruby hummed, faking being in deep thought, "Nope."

The seven others in their group laughed as Daniel groaned again, resting his head against his crush's. "So, I'm assuming you guys are a thing again?" Yang asked with a bright grin.

As a response, Ruby tilted her head up while Daniel leaned down as their lips touched briefly, confirming Yang's assumption. Ruby looked at her sister with a satisfied smile as Daniel donned a victorious smirk. "Take a guess," Ruby giggled.

But, Ruby's grin ran away from her face when she saw money exchanging between Blake, Weiss, and her sister. "Really?" she exclaimed.

Weiss had the decency to look slightly ashamed while Blake and Yang smirked at Ruby's reaction. Then, Ruby's expression harshened when she saw Pyrrha handing Jaune a small bill. "You guys too?" she questioned.

"We weren't betting on if you two were getting together," Jaune reassured, "we were betting on _when_ , and Pyrrha was closer." Ruby stepped menacingly forward as Jaune shrunk back, hiding behind Pyrrha as Daniel reeled in his girlfriend with a small laugh.

"On any note," Pyrrha interrupted, shooting Ruby a bright grin, "Congratulations on getting back together."

"Any special plans so far, Daniel?" Nora quipped happily.

"A few in mind," Daniel responded as he looked up at the distance in thought, "Today's Saturday, so I could do some stuff I wanted to do."

Ruby stared up at her boyfriend with a slight skeptic quirk on her lips. "It's the first day we're together again," she pointed out, "How do you already have stuff in mind?"

Daniel kissed Ruby on the forehead reassuringly. "I had a lot of time to think about it," he assured.

As the group continued on their way back to the dorms, Daniel leaned down and whispered low enough only Ruby would hear, "Are you an early riser?"

Ruby glanced at Daniel, a small smile donning on her lips when she understood what he meant. "Maybe. Why?"

Daniel gave Ruby a quick peck on the lips before pulling away, a giddy grin on both their faces. "Meet me at the fountain at five."

"In the morning?" Ruby asked, her brows furrowing together.

"Why not?" Daniel replied.

Ruby gave Daniel a serious look before responding, "You'd better have something good planned."

"Don't worry," Daniel said as he pulled away, running ahead of her to start preparing his impromptu date, "You'll love it!"

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Ruby stifled back another yawn, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she leaned against a light post lining the sidewalk. "I think he said five," Ruby muttered to herself as her eyes started to droop yet again.

"I'm here," Daniel's low voice rang out through the empty space. Ruby turned around slowly, a smile forming as she saw Daniel strolling up to her with small bags under his eyes, his cloak and sweater ruffled and wrinkled like he put them on hastily. "Sorry, I got sidetracked trying to put on some finishing touches." He made his way over until his arms snagged Ruby in a loose hug. "How are you?" he asked with a look of complete adoration.

"Tired," Ruby answered as she let out another silent yawn, "Why'd we have to get up this early?"

"You'll see," was all Daniel responded with before taking Ruby's hand.

As they walked off the path and into the miniature forest surrounding Beacon, Ruby had to ask, "Where are we actually going, Daniel?"

"Oh, you know," Daniel replied vaguely, "somewhere beautiful."

As they continued to walk, in their sleep-deprived states, Ruby and Daniel started asking random questions about each other. "You ever had a girlfriend before?" Ruby asked, leaning her head against Daniel's side as he draped an arm over her shoulders.

Daniel shook his head while a small, humorous smile played at his lips. "Closest thing would probably be my mom," he joked, "You ever had a boyfriend before?"

"Mm-mmm," Ruby hummed as she shook her head- in denial or to nuzzle her head further into Daniel's chest, he didn't know, "Same here, but the closest would probably be Crescent Rose."

"Your weapon?" Daniel clarified with a small chuckle, his chest rumbling made Ruby sigh in happiness.

"Don't tease," Ruby chided, slapping Daniel's chest playfully.

"You're right," Daniel conceded. Then, to dash Ruby's hopes of the argument ending, Daniel continued smugly, "It's fine that I'm dating a weapons nerd."

Again, he received a light slap to the chest. "And you're not a weapons nerd yourself?" Ruby teased.

Daniel laughed as he rubbed his eyes in drowsiness. "Touché," he announced.

And then, they were there. The trees started to thin out as they reached the edge of the woods behind Beacon, with a clearing large enough to fit Beacon's cafeteria in, on a cliff overlooking the bay. The moon was dipping down into the water, painting a white silhouette over waves crashing gently onto the shore below them. Ruby blinked at the serenity before her small smile turned into a bright, ear-to-ear grin.

Daniel gently pulled Ruby into a one-armed hug as he stared at the bay with the same expression as her. "I knew you would like it," he boasted lightly.

Ruby leaned into Daniel's side, her gaze still lingering on the beautiful scenery in front of her. "I love it," she announced. Then, her eyes strayed down at the ground in front of them. "What is this?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head.

"Oh, that," Daniel remembered as he looked at the folded blanket neatly placed under a basket at the base of a tree that lined the small woods. "That's our date." Daniel let go of his date and made his way over to the picnic basket, shuffling a few things for a second before standing back up with a small black object, almost invisible against the night sky without the moon's help. Daniel placed the circular disk on top of the basket, pressed a button on the top, and walked back over to a confused Ruby to pull her to the center of the clearing. "Hope you remembered which song was this," Daniel chirped.

A soft waltz echoed from the speaker Daniel set up as he clasped Ruby's other hand, a large grin donning his sleepy face. Recognition rose up in Ruby's face as she grinned as well, wrapping an arm around her boyfriend's neck. "You're so cheesy," Ruby teased as they started dancing,

"Is that a bad thing?" Daniel inquired, twirling Ruby around with a love-struck smile playing on his lips.

"Not at all," Ruby assured, pressing her cheek into Daniel's chest as the song continued to play. A few minutes went by before either of them spoke again, enjoying the peaceful moment too much. "Midnight Waltz," Ruby muttered.

"Hmm?" Daniel hummed, puzzled.

"Midnight Waltz," Ruby repeated. Daniel laughed in triumph while Ruby groaned, sinking her face into his chest. "Thanks, now you infected me with your old music."

"Hey," Daniel quipped, "my old music is better than your new, robot-made music."

"Oh yeah?" Ruby challenged, "Prove it."

Daniel's lopsided grin turned cheeky as he pulled away for a few seconds, typing away a few things on his Scroll before pulling Ruby back in for another dance. A soft piano started again, this time accompanied by more and more instruments as Daniel led Ruby into a sort of slow dance. Then, suddenly he switched to an impromptu, slow swing dance, catching Ruby by surprise and almost knocking her off her feet. "Hey," Ruby exclaimed, "That's cheating."

"Says who?" Daniel shot back with his lopsided smirk, "It's an old song, right?'

When the lyrics came, Daniel sang along. Ruby stared at him, mesmerized as he had the time of his life, a smile plastered on his face permanently. As the last chord was played, Daniel pulled Ruby close to his chest, staying there for a good minute. Eventually, Ruby shook her head to clear her mind, but her smile wasn't easily shaken away. "That was fun," Ruby breathed.

Daniel quipped with a smirk, "So, will you admit defeat?"

"Absolutely not," Ruby shot back with a challenging look.

With a raised eyebrow, Daniel pulled out his Scroll and offered it to Ruby who snatched it away from him. "Be my guest," he insisted.

As Ruby scrolled through Daniel's list of songs, her eyes narrowed. "Why are none of these good?" she complained.

Without warning, Daniel placed his hands on Ruby's, his head bowed as an aura of sadness waved off him. "I'm sorry," he started, "We can't be together- I can't have a girlfriend that has such a horrible taste in music."

And a well-deserved slap rang out as Daniel's head snapped back, a red handprint embedded on his cheek. "Hey," he protested as he nursed his cheek.

"You deserved it," Ruby huffed while she typed in a few commands in Daniel's Scroll.

"I thought it was going to be a shove, not a slap," Daniel protested.

"Oh, hush," Ruby teased as she pushed Daniel's Scroll into his chest. Just then, the small speaker softly blasted fast, blood-pumping electronic music. "The party's just started."

And that's how the next thirty minutes went for them- trading songs back and forth as Daniel and Ruby had their own private dance party under the moonlight with no one close enough to hear the music, let alone interrupt. For every one of Ruby's songs was one of Daniel's, from songs your head just couldn't keep still for to ones your feet couldn't keep still.

Eventually, another yawn wracked Ruby's body as her energy was spent. Daniel, hands on his knees, was panting slightly beside her. "I guess that's enough dancing for one night," Ruby suggested.

"Technically it's morning, but yeah," Daniel agreed.

Just then, Ruby hunched over, arms covering her stomach and mouth as she collapsed onto the grass. Daniel was by her side in an instant, patting Ruby's back comfortingly as she sprayed out the contents of her stomach along with some blood. Ruby groaned as the acid stuck to her throat, shutting her eyes while Daniel tore off a small section of his cloak, dabbing it against Ruby's mouth. "You okay?" Daniel worried.

"'m fine," Ruby mumbled out, rocking back and forth slightly, "Sour ending to our date, huh?"

Determined not to end it there with vomit, Daniel guided Ruby away from her scene, covering it up with the help of some dirt and his Semblance, and leaned her against the tree with the picnic stuff. From the basket, he produced a small bottle of water which Ruby mumbled out a "thanks" before taking it. Daniel laid flat the blanket before pulling Ruby down with him. "We're barely through our date," Daniel said softly, wrapping his arms around Ruby's waist as she buried her face into Daniel's shoulder, "And I'm not letting you leave until it's done."

"Fine," Ruby hummed out, already drifting off. Before her eyes closed, she whispered to Daniel, "Thank you," putting a smile on the already satisfied faunus's face.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

The light beating down on Daniel's eyelids woke him up, no matter how hard he tried to squint it away. Trying to raise an arm up to rub his face free of drowsiness, he felt his arm being pinned down. Using his other arm to rub his eyes, he rotated his head to see what was holding onto his arm, smiling but not surprised to see a familiar red cloak greet his sight. Ruby plopped herself at the crook of Daniel's arm, back pressed up against his side while hugging his arm close to her chest.

Daniel allowed himself another five minutes to just sit there and enjoy the moment- just a brief heaven with no one else to ruin it. Eventually, he forced himself to lightly shake Ruby's arm. "Sun's out, Ruby," he said softly.

In response, Ruby tightened her hold on Daniel's arm while also curling her knees up to her chest. "Tell it to go back," she whined.

Daniel laughed quietly before pulling Ruby's hood back, revealing her shiny scalp which was instantly amended when Ruby's hand shot up and drew it back down. "We're still not done with our date, though," Daniel reminded as he leaned his head against Ruby's.

A few moments went by. Then, "Fine," Ruby groaned as she let free Daniel's arm. She sat up and heaved an almighty yawn, her arms stretched high above her head while Daniel followed suit. While he was still popping the sleep out of his joints, Ruby gazed over at the bay, shortly after her mouth dropped. "Wow," she breathed. The sun poked out from behind the ocean, a small sliver of yellow that colored the rest of the sky a warm orange. Looking higher, Ruby saw a flock of birds flying overhead in the indigo blue sky mixed with orange.

"Wow," Daniel echoed, his voice muffled by a yawn he tried to stifle. "I actually haven't seen a sunrise here," he admitted, "It's a lot better than I expected."

Ruby rested her head on Daniel's shoulder who, in turn, stacked his on top of hers. Before they took another hour admiring the scenery, Daniel gently pulled himself away from Ruby. "But, that's not the thing I prepared for," he blurted, leaning over and stretching for the basket.

Curious, Ruby craned her neck to try and peek over Daniel's shoulder. She was still surprised when Daniel pulled back, a small plastic container in hand with about a half dozen wraps inside. "Turkey wraps," Daniel announced, popping off the lid and setting them in front of Ruby.

With a joyful smile, Ruby suffocated Daniel with a hug which he gladly gave back. "At least you remembered the turkey," Ruby teased as she sat back down, taking one of the wraps out of the small box and biting into it.

Daniel smiled along as he took one for himself, calmly enjoying the peaceful silence with Ruby, the only interruptions being birds overhead and the waves crashing on the shores far below.

All good things had to come to an end, but Daniel and Ruby didn't expect it to come in the form of Ruby's Scroll ringing. With her eyebrows knit and still chewing on her bite, Ruby flicked open her Scroll before groaning, spraying out bits of food over Daniel's blanket. Daniel leaned over and craned his neck at the screen before groaning himself. "Please tell me you left them a note or something," he pled.

"Nope," Ruby denied. She answered the call, bringing it up to her ear before greeting in a cheery tone, "Hey, Yang. You're up early!" A pause. "What?" Ruby drawled, her voice an octave higher than usual, "No he didn't." Then, she sighed in defeat before answering, "We're enjoying the sunrise right now."

Then, Ruby noticed Daniel trying to get her attention with small waves. He mouthed, " _Speaker_ ," as Ruby nodded as a reply. Ruby quickly pressed a button before laying her Scroll flat on the blanket. "You're on speaker now, sis," Ruby called to the Scroll.

" _Daniel?_ " they heard Yang's voice demand, " _Where the hell are you guys?_ "

"Well good morning to you too, Yang," Daniel greeted, "I'm just trying to have breakfast with your sister."

A brief silence followed before Yang, this time in a cheekier tone, replied, " _Really- taking Ruby out for breakfast for a first date?_ "

Daniel rolled his eyes even when Yang couldn't see while Ruby giggled, throwing her arms around Daniel's neck. "I thought it was nice," she assured with a swift peck on his cheek.

Daniel grinned at his girlfriend as they heard Yang groan over the call. " _Ugh,_ " she commented, " _Seriously tone down the PDA. I could feel it all the way from the dorms._ "

The corner of Daniel's mouth quirked up in humor as he ended, "Thanks for the suggestion, Yang." Then, before Yang could shoot back a retort, he ended the call.

Ruby playfully smacked Daniel across the chest. "Hey," she exclaimed lightly, "No touching my Scroll."

"Sure, honey," Daniel teased.

"Dove-brain," Ruby retorted.

"Oh, come on," Daniel exclaimed, "I thought we were over that!"

"Nope," Ruby chirped before taking another bite out of her breakfast. When Daniel groaned in response, burying his face in his hands, Ruby let out a melodic laugh as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "It wasn't even that bad of an insult," Ruby tried to comfort him.

Daniel rolled his eyes as his arm snaked around Ruby's waist, pulling her close to his side. "Whatever," he brushed off, "I'm gonna enjoy this while it lasts. Tomorrow's going to be murder with your uncle."

"By the way," Ruby remembered, "does Uncle Qrow know about you dating me?"

Daniel was in mid-bite when Ruby asked her question, and when he heard it, he froze for a few long heartbeats. Eventually, he recovered from his shock and swallowed before replying, "So, should I write my will now or…?"

Ruby let out another giggle she hid behind a hand. With a small kiss on Daniel's cheek, she said in a singsong tone, "Good luck."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

And indeed, Daniel needed all the luck he could get as Qrow's shoulder slammed against his chest, forcing him to stumble back in order to stay on his feet. In that instant of breathing room, Qrow spun around and tried to throw out a slash that would've scraped Daniel's arm if not for Myrtenaster's interception. As Daniel regained his footing, he saw Weiss fending off Qrow with a quick flurry of strikes as their teacher blocked each one with ease.

"Still too predictable," Qrow chastised as Weiss lunged at him again. With a quick spin, he ended up side by side with the white-haired girl before sweeping out her carefully placed leg beneath her. Weiss crashed on her side with Qrow looming over her, his sword pointed down at the side of her neck.

"Stop," Qrow commanded. Daniel, Weiss's partner, for the time being, stopped rushing to rejoin the battle and skidded to a halt. "Better," he complimented, "But still so far off. Daniel, you have to keep a level head on the battlefield at all times. Only rely on instinct if you've run out of options, which by the time I'm done teaching you, you shouldn't be able to run out. Weiss," Qrow turned to the girl laying on the floor, removing his sword so she could climb to her feet. "Still not thinking. Well, not thinking about anything important enough."

"What does that mean?" Weiss snapped as she dusted off her skirt, wincing slightly as she also stretched out her aching side.

"It means you're predictable," Qrow shot back, "You're the picture-perfect duelist, which means you're getting killed first out on an actual battlefield." Weiss opened her mouth in protest but was cut off again when Qrow went on, "You have a Semblance, you have Dust, you've got a brain- use it!

"Alright, here's what we'll do. Daniel." Daniel stiffened when his name was called. "Go back with the others," Qrow demanded without even a glance at the faunus, "I'm going to do a quick one-on-one lesson with Miss Princess over here."

Daniel quickly backpedaled off the ring to where Yang and Blake were staring intently at the match in front of them. "Here's your next test, Weiss," Qrow stated as he strolled to the opposite side of the arena, "First strike test- if you can rush and hit me without giving me enough breathing room to hit back, you get to rest. If you don't, you'll do it again, and again, until you learn a thing or two about being creative."

Weiss's expression stoned as she stood in her usual ready position, feet planted but still light off the floor with her rapier tucked in the first position for a lunge. Qrow calmly waited on the other side, his weapon resting lazily over his shoulder. When Weiss's foot shifted the slightest inch, however, he took on a much more serious stance, his knees bent as Weiss sprinted forward.

As usual, Qrow spun to avoid the lunge, but this time he went into Weiss's guard and not around, ramming into her and shoving her to the ground. Weiss's world did a 90-degree turn as she hit the ground, her chest feeling as if a train had hit her. "Seriously," Qrow sighed, "Did you ignore everything I just said, or are you just this stupid."

Weiss stumbled up to a kneeling position with one arm cradling her stomach. "Come on," Qrow bellowed, hoisting Weiss up to her feet with a soft grunt, "Up and at 'em." As Weiss panted for breath, Qrow started a small speech, "I know your sister, Princess. Hate her guts in every meaning, but at least she's a formidable opponent. She had the experience and power to back up her words which I could respect. You, on the other hand, have to stop playing shadow and do something about it."

"Do you," Weiss panted, "expect me to someone learn her decade-worth of experience in ten seconds?"

"No- I want you to be smarter than she was," Qrow concluded.

Weiss nodded before hesitantly returning to her ready position. Qrow took his own stance as Weiss eyed every detail about his pose. This time, white glyphs formed beneath Weiss as she rushed forward with a dazzling speed. With a millisecond of thought, Qrow tried to spin out of the way only for him to realize that a black glyph was slowing his feet down. Cursing as he realized he didn't have the time to dodge out of the way, his sword came off his shoulder as he barely parried the attack from his chest. Weiss then followed it with a quick slash, but it was caught by the flat of Qrow's blade while his hand shot forward like a bullet, popping Weiss in the center of her chest as she stumbled back, her concentration broken along with the black glyph holding Qrow down. He stepped back, this time a small lopsided smile finally making its way onto his lips. "Better," he complimented, "Good. But you're going to need to do better than that."

Weiss let out a tired huff, but the small praise lifted her spirits enough to give her enough energy to ready herself in a lunging position. This time, without Qrow being able to ready himself, she rushed forward with a glyph to propel her. Qrow, already anticipating what would happen, spun prematurely out of the way. However, this time it wasn't Qrow Weiss was slowing down but herself. With a black glyph now hanging below her, she was able to stop in time to prepare herself for Qrow's slash. Her Myrtenaster glowed red as the chamber in the rapier's guard spun. When Qrow's counter came, Weiss parried away the slash with such a force that it made Qrow shift on his feet just long enough to allow the girl to slap her weapon across Qrow's cheek, drawing a small line of blood on his jawline.

Weiss, along with her teammates in the stands, stared at Qrow in horror as he cursed up a storm, holding his cheek with both hands as the stinging feeling slowly dampened down to a slow throb. Then, their worries were lifted when Qrow boomed out a proud laugh. "There you go," Qrow exclaimed, turning around with pride in his shining red eyes, "Now you're thinking like a fighter." He shooed her away with his hand as he continued, "Go back to the stands. Yang and Blake, your guys' turns!"

 **-xXxX-Line Break #7-XxXx-**

Even though Qrow's training was grueling, it was at least extremely rewarding after every lesson. On the other hand, it was a week later before any of the four teens made any process under Winter and Griswald's lessons. Mainly due to how unorthodox Griswald was on how they trained. With Yang, it was day after day of trying to hone her emotions to a level that they could be used as weapons themselves. Blake, on the other hand, was subjected to a sort of "spiritual training", as Griswald put it. Daniel, however, didn't exactly have a plan- more so Griswald didn't have a plan for him. In Daniel's case, it was mostly trial and error to see the extent of his powers along with the range he could efficiently use them.

The first major stride with Griswald, though, was stunning, to say the least. A month in their training, Griswald was with Daniel, experimenting away with his Semblance, when Blake's cry of anguish rang out from the other side of the arena. The others turned towards the noise with various levels of concern. They all calmed down when they saw the faunus was fine, just experiencing an excruciating headache from the looks of it. On the ground, Blake was sitting on the backs of her heels, her head buried deep into her arms as she let out another wail.

Next to Blake, was… Blake. The clone of her was flickering in and out like a low-powered hologram, also in the same position as the real Blake with her face covered by her arms. Griswald walked over to her with a sad smile. "There's the first step," he congratulated, kneeling beside the girl in agony, "The first time is always the worst."

Blake responded with another groan as her clone finally flickered away from existence. Her groans slowly died down as the effects of her second self slowly dissipated. "My eyes," she whimpered.

"Your eyes are fine," Griswald assured with a hand on Blake's back as he reassuringly rubbed circles, "That's the effect of true clones have on you. Doubled vision, double senses, but one brain."

"You don't say," Blake cursed through gritted teeth, "It's natural, and yet completely unnatural." She eventually, stumbled back to her feet, hands still covering her eyes in fear. Slowly her hands came away from her eyes as she sighed in relief. "I'm not doing that again," she claimed in a small voice.

"Well, you're sadly going to have to," Griswald insisted, "It's a part of your Semblance. You will have to get used to it."

"Do I have to?" Blake whined uncharacteristically.

"Of course," Griswald insisted, "Why, I'm honestly surprised you didn't yell louder than you did. The first time I witnessed my friend experience something like that, he made the birds migrate early."

Blake cracked a small smile before another migraine came around. "And now," Griswald said as he put a hand on her shoulder, "Do it again."

 **AN: And there it is- Chapter 25. Hey guys, Fireflame again. 2 chapters left in this story. Man, it's been a freaking ride, writing this. And it's been an amazing experience from your guys' support- we passed 36k views on this story, triple digits on followers, and in the 90's for both reviews and favorites. Thank you guys so much.**

 **This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I still needed enough to make next chapter longer than 6k words, so I cut it a bit shorter than planned. Still, I think that's enough stuff. I reunited Rubiel, potentially scarred Jaune (let's be honest, he's probably the person you'd expect to do something like that), added a few extra plot ideas, and put in a bit more fluff. I have to say, the date was a mix between two things I had- one was the breakfast date which I read online, and the other one was a sorta dream date I had. Private dance party- you can't tell me that doesn't sound amazing.**

 **Also, bonus points for whoever can guess the inspiration for the second song Daniel played. Here's the hint: Piano and harmonica in the first 20 seconds of the song, and there's a guy in the Navy that'll probably be there for life.**

 **Anyways, poll time:**

 **IT'S OFFICIAL. WEISS WINS. WEISS LIVES 100% NOW. Wait… I didn't really want for her to win… Oh well, challenge accepted! And now you guys wait for which route I take- the dark one or the light-but-sorta-dark ending.**

 **Now the polls done, review response:**

 **ThatGreenDooredBookshop: Yeah, sorry I didn't make it clear on what happened to Ruby the chapter before. Yep, the climax is still building up. Next chapter's going to be the assault on Vale, so prepare yourselves.**

 **You're slightly wrong about Yang, though. She's not really glass-cannon as she is a juggernaut. Easily able to run circles around her, but not easy to fight her head on. That's why I was going to give her… actually, let's not spoil the surprise.**

 **Thanks for your support through basically the entire last half of my story, though, TGDB. And thanks for the music recommendations as well.**

 **And that's basically it! Again, I can't thank you guys enough for everything- favoriting, following, reviewing, or just plain old clicking on the link to this story. It's been a hell of a ride, and it's sadly coming to an end. If all goes according to planned, there's going to be 2 chapters left, so… yeah…**

 **Anyways, I shouldn't ramble anymore. See you guys next chapter for the epic climactic battle!**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	28. Chapter 26: Grand Finale

**AN: Hello, and welcome back to Wilting Rose! Second to last chapter, so let's get started!**

 **Huh, not much enthusiasm for last chapter. I realized the ones I got the most reviews on were for being a horrible person, being controversial, or having fluff. Let's do all of that, shall we?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or anything about it. Because Velvet would've probably appeared in Season 1 of Chibi if I did.**

 **Disclaimer 2: I'm sorry.**

Chapter 26: Grand Finale

It was the last few months of the school year, and still that "your training has led you to succeed" moment Ozpin was going on about still had not happened. Whether it was because it was taking longer than Ozpin estimated or if the Queen and her followers were just biding their time, he didn't know. But still, Ozpin was always on edge, flipping through messages on his Scroll hourly to see if his informants had any new intel.

As Ozpin's eyes scanned the dozens of links he'd been able to trace, tapping occasionally on his keyboard to scroll through the hundreds of pages condensed into a small image floating above his desk, the elevator doors to his office opened with a small _ding_. Quickly, he turned off the projection and looked up at the newcomer, letting his shoulders release their tension when he saw two of his most trusted friends. "So," Ozpin started, resting his elbows on his desk as he leaned forward, "How are the children?"

Qrow stepped out of the elevator, groaning as he rubbed his sore neck. "Progressing," he answered. Qrow unclipped his flask and took a generous swig, gasping when he finished. "Any two of them can keep me at a standstill now. Yang probably can if I give her enough time to energize herself, but Daniel's still the strongest in terms of prowess."

Ozpin nodded, impressed by how effective Qrow was and how quick DWBY was to learn from, what he considered, one of the best Hunters in Remnant. Before he could comment, however, Griswald walked out of the elevator as well with more news. "And their progress with their Semblances is fascinating- I've never seen anyone adapt like Blake or learn as fast as Weiss."

Ozpin nodded as he leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. "Some details would be preferred," he encouraged.

"Weiss has almost learned as much as Winter in animated glyphs," Griswald explained, "None of them are as powerful as Winter's, but nonetheless still effective."

"How about Miss Xiao Long?"

Griswald chuckled, "Sill a hothead, but she's learned. If her fights last more than a minute, she most likely will power through and win most fights."

"And Miss Belladonna?"

This time, it was Qrow's turn to answer. "Her clones are good," he grunted, "Extremely convincing and more use than to take a blow here and there."

"What about Mister Gotzon's?" Ozpin finally asked, his interest peaked in what the crow faunus could do, "What is the extent of his powers?"

Griswald shifted on his feet. "I don't know," he admitted, "Theoretically, he could make anything."

"And realistically?"

"It depends." Griswald sighed before trying his best to explain, "Daniel's Semblance is… finicky, to say the least. It has the potential to create and destroy practically anything, but it seems like his body has limited itself."

Ozpin leaned forward now, his attention focused on his long-time friend's description. "Interesting," he mused.

"So, wait," Qrow interrupted, "Let's say, hypothetically, he had enough Aura to do anything. Could he make life?"

"No," Griswald answered immediately, "That in of itself is impossible."

"But you said-."

"I should've phrased it better. He can make any form of matter he wants. Hell, I might even venture that he could make a black hole." As the other two's eyes went wide, Griswald waved off their hopes and or nightmares. "Daniel can't, of course. I don't even believe if every single one of us had Aura pools like yours, Ozpin, the entire population of Remnant couldn't produce anything that dense."

"You mentioned something about not being able to create life?" Ozpin reminded.

"Ah, yes," the gray-haired professor remembered, "Well, one form of matter to another is simple in terms of Daniel's Semblance, I've noticed- just gather the necessary materials, use a bit of Aura for energy, and presto: you've got yourself a new whatever you want! Life is not quite as simple."

"Why not?" Qrow asked with a tired voice, "Seems simple enough to me. Get what people are made of, add energy and then there's your human."

"How much energy would you have to add, though?" Griswald countered. Qrow opened his mouth to object before realizing what he was saying. "Exactly. You'd have to trade off something of equal value to use Daniel's Semblance effectively. And you've heard of the term, 'a life for a life'. Well, it might be literal in some sense if Daniel was to create even a petri dish of bacteria."

"So," Ozpin began, his mind running at speeds unparalleled even by the CCT's supercomputers, "what would he be able to do in a practical environment- on the battlefield, under pressure?"

Griswald scratched the side of his head in thought. "I don't know," he admitted.

Qrow scoffed silently. "Really?" he questioned.

"It's not something you can measure," Griswald snapped in frustration, "This is not an exact science- we're talking about hypothetical events with hypothetical scenarios and a hypothetical limit. In practice, everything I could ever possibly measure out is thrown out the window because it's useless!"

"Calm down, Douglas," Ozpin piped in, "Tell me, do you think they are ready?"

Qrow huffed as he took another swig from his drink. "Are any of us?" he shot back, capping his drink, "They're prepared, but not ready."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Meanwhile, as the adults contemplated, the teens in question were all sitting with their friends for lunch, talking about what Beacon students usually talked about at this time- end of school, plans for summer, their latest missions, and of course the outcomes of the Vytal Festival.

"I think Pyrrha's got a shot at winning," Nora encouraged as she slurped up another pancake.

"Sorry, but I've gotta disagree," Yang protested as she pointed a fork at Nora, "There are about three upperclassmen that definitely can give her a run for her money."

Ruby gently nudged her shoulder into her crush's chest as she sat in his lap, her small grin quirking as Daniel continued to stare at a wall of text on his Scroll. "What are you doing?" she whispered to him, "Aren't you going to join in?"

"Hmm?" Daniel snapped back to the conversation. With a sheepish smile, he rubbed his knuckles against the top of Ruby's head, drawing a small glare from the girl. "Sorry, I was just looking over some of my notes and logs." He held up his Scroll for Ruby to take a small glimpse of the pages and pages of condensed notes.

As Ruby read through a few of them, Nora and Yang continued to bicker about the final matches. "Pyrrha's the best in our year," Nora argued, "There's no way anyone's beating her. Unless she gets sick and can't compete, or if there's a sabotage attempt." Nora looked around suspiciously at tables near them while Ren, sitting next to her, rolled his eyes at her antics.

"In our year," Yang pointed out, "Thing is, there're three other years she's going to have to worry about."

"You know I'm here, right?" Pyrrha interjected with a small smile. A small pink tint appeared on Yang's face as she opened her mouth, but Pyrrha beat her to it. "It's fine," Pyrrha waved off, "I'd prefer a challenge different than what I have to face every day in Professor Goodwitch's class."

Yang and Daniel both looked at the redhead with a sort of fire in their eyes. "Is that a challenge?" Yang inquired.

Swallowing a bite, Pyrrha looked through the corner of her eye with a sly grin. "I don't know," she edged on, "Is it?"

"Hey look," Jaune exclaimed from Pyrrha's left, "She's finally talking like us."

The girl in question blushed while the rest of the table laughed at her expense. "Good job, guys," Yang celebrated, "All we need to corrupt now is Ice Queen over here."

"As if," Weiss huffed, a small grin donning her face. She tacked on, "That will happen after Jaune asks _some_ one in particular out on a date."

Oblivious to Pyrrha's blush, Jaune blinked a few times at the white-haired duelist. "Who, you?" he asked with a confused expression.

Weiss, along with the majority of the table, tilted their heads back and groaned. "How are you so clueless," she belittled.

As the teens continued to bicker, unbeknownst to them a figure was watching them from one of the tables closest to the doors. A green-haired girl surveyed DWBY and JNPR's table with a bored expression, but a thousand thoughts still raced around in her brain.

Every time Emerald's eyes laid on the crow faunus, a small pang of guilt gripped her stomach. " _It wasn't my fault_ ," she tried to convince herself, " _His mom was just… suicidal._ " But her words sounded empty even to her ears. When Emerald thought back to that night, she couldn't help but remember Hazel's death vividly, every detail sticking out.

Emerald thought back to when Hazel was strapped to the wall, bloody and bruised. " _Cinder promised she'd be safe,_ " Emerald thought to herself as she stared at the wood table, twiddling her thumbs, " _No one was supposed to die._ " She tried to place blame on anyone she could- Cinder from making empty promises, Hazel for taking actions into her own hands, to even Daniel who refused to join them. But, she was never able to shake off the very particular detail of herself almost handing Hazel the weapon that would end her life.

Emerald shut tight her eyes, and her fists clenched tight enough to crush a diamond with her bare hands. " _It wasn't supposed to happen,_ " she vowed, " _She wasn't supposed to die._ " And Cinder definitely knew it. Since that night, the fire user's cocky, arrogant attitude faded slowly but surely as anger and impatience replaced it. Cinder's time alone with her Scroll increased tenfold as she called, recalled, and made sure their plan was done on time and even pushed forward.

" _Was it 'their' plan,_ " Emerald mused, " _or Cinder's?_ " When Cinder came to her the first time, years ago when she was alone on the streets, Emerald was promised amazing and intoxicating things. " _Imagine it,_ " she remembered Cinder exclaiming with arms wide open, looking up at the sky with a distant expression, " _A world without corrupt individuals. A world where the strongest thrive, not the favorites of society._ "

How could Emerald not see the appeal to it? She grew up on the streets, no one to depend upon but herself. Every time she'd look up and see a monitor or a screen or hologram in the big cities, a wave of disgust would wash over her as she saw celebrities being treated as gods and goddesses, politicians being worshiped like a religion of their own as they passed another (probably meaningless) piece of legislation. Life was unfair like that- get put into the correct time and place, and you become eye candy for the rest of your life. Not to mention the wealthy. Emerald wrinkled her nose just at the thought of them. All of them were stuck-up rich assholes with "an empire to protect" or whatever excuse they had to exploit everyone else for selfish interests. And yet, in her eyes, she was stronger and better than any of them. At least her shady dealings were out in the open and not in bank accounts across borders.

Emerald looked up back at the table Cinder commanded her to survey. Her eyes landed on Weiss as another wave of disgust hit her. It was mixed with, however, a small bit of grudging respect. From what she knew about the Schnee family, their ancestors were just like the other rich, snobby, arrogant, single-minded dull aristocrats that Emerald hated with a passion. But, she had to admit Weiss and her sister were different. Both saw what their family was doing and hated their father with a certain passion. Both denied the easy path of inheritance (Emerald thought of that… practice as one of the most revolting things about the wealthy) and instead chose a path that could actually potentially be useful.

Maybe that's why Hazel's death hurt her so much, Emerald mused with another stab of regret. The woman was someone Emerald could look up to without a second thought- a position of power without overusing it, devoting her life to push for peace instead of trying to be in power for as long as she could, and overall just someone Emerald would've loved to hang out with (without having to think about pickpocketing them).

Now, after that day months back, Emerald was starting to regret. Not her views on a need for revolution, but for joining Cinder. She thought she was going to get all she wanted plus what she deserved, but what Emerald got was empty promises and a broken moral. And now, when things started to not look in their favor, Cinder showed her true colors. Emerald winced at the memory as she unconsciously rubbed her cheek where she had been backhanded. Even the simplest mistakes like standing out too much were worthy of punishment now.

As she snapped back to reality, Emerald tried to peel her eyes away from Weiss's table to keep looking inconspicuous. But, when she glanced up again a minute later, Daniel's gaze seemed to pierce her with observant eyes, and a blank stare replaced his friendly smirk as he locked eyes with Emerald.

Emerald shivered in fear in spite of her indifferent look. Without a word, she stood up and left as she tried to keep the chill from running down her spine. He knew. With 100% certainty, she knew that Daniel recognized her. She recognized those eyes- they were the same kinds she saw when Daniel realized his mom had passed away in front of him. As she pushed open the door, Emerald stole a small glance back at the table.

With bated breath, Emerald watched as Daniel gently took Ruby of his lap, the girl looking at her boyfriend with a hint of confusion. Daniel stood up while planting a kiss on Ruby's temple, exchanging a few words Emerald couldn't hear over the roar of the cafeteria. Emerald's pace quickened as she left the building in a rush, looking over her shoulder a few times as a tide of students walked towards lunch.

Eventually, she made it into the halls of Beacon, empty besides a couple of stragglers who were milling around and ducking into offices to meet with professors. Emerald turned a corner and collapsed against the wall, her heart racing faster than her mind. After a few seconds, she tilted her head and peered around the corner, her eyes widening when she watched Daniel calmly walking down the hall, his metal heels ringing with every step. "No," Emerald mouthed silently as she ducked behind the corner, staring at the opposite wall with a horrified expression, "No, no, no, no." As Daniel closed in, just a few paces away from where Emerald hid, she steadied her breath whilst getting to her feet. Her last chance to escape was also her riskiest, but Emerald had no choice anymore.

 **-xXxX-Actual Line Break-XxXx-**

Daniel's shoulders tensed as his hand gripped against his weapon's hilt strapped on his back, rounding the corner with a dead-serious expression. That mop of green hair was chillingly familiar back at the cafeteria, and when the girl bolted as soon as he stared at her, he knew instantly she was the one. The one that was there during his mom's death.

As he turned the corner, he started to unsheathe his sword while taking one last step. He flinched back in surprise when a pair of ice-blue eyes stared back at him along with a familiar figure. "Weiss?" Daniel questioned as he pushed his sword back into its sheath, "What are you doing here? I thought you were back at the cafeteria."

Weiss didn't break eye contact as her head tilted to the side, an annoyed frown donning her face. "I came to find you," she told Daniel, "You can't just rush off like that."

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that," he apologized, "I thought I saw someone familiar. Apparently, she disappeared."

Weiss's frown continued to be plastered on her mouth. "Well, the others sent me to get you back." She pushed past Daniel, spinning around and walking backward to face Daniel. "Are you coming or not?"

Daniel shrugged and quickly caught up to her as they walked side by side. Weiss spun back around, not taking her eyes off Daniel as he whistled a merry tune. When they passed another hallway, Weiss asked, "What's that song?"

"Hmm?" Daniel began as he turned to face Weiss, "Oh, the tune? That's _For the Longest Time_. Got it stuck in my head a while back."

Weiss nodded at Daniel's answer. "Seems like a nice song," she complimented.

Daniel turned back as he faced in the direction they were walking. Out of nowhere, he asked, "Hey, you remember Griswald?"

Weiss narrowed her eyes in confusion as she gazed at Daniel. "Not really," she answered.

"Apparently, Ozpin was thinking about bringing him in as the new Grimm Anatomy teacher," Daniel explain as he glanced slightly at a confused Weiss.

"Really?" Weiss huffed in interest, "I haven't heard that yet. But I could agree with that. Port seems a bit… distracted during his lectures."

Daniel let out a snort of amusement at Weiss's comment. "You got that right," he agreed.

A minute passed while they continued to walk back towards the exit. However, Daniel couldn't shake off the nagging voice in his mind as he realized Weiss hadn't taken his eyes off him for the entire walk. "Random question," he blurted, catching Weiss off guard, "And you're going to have to answer honestly to this."

Weiss arched an eyebrow at the surprise interruption. "What? Why?" she asked.

"Please?" Daniel asked as he stopped walking and leaned a hand against the wall right next to a doorway. Weiss sighed as she leaned against the door, looking at Daniel imploringly. A blue glow appeared under the palms of his hands as Daniel nodded at Weiss's feet. "You should probably get that off your feet, though. Don't know how you didn't notice it."

Weiss furrowed her brows in confusion as she looked down. Her confusion doubled as she stared at the small ring of tile coming out of the floor and anchoring her ankle to the ground. "What the hell, Daniel?" she exclaimed, her voice deepening to Daniel's ears. She tore her foot away from the flimsy chain as she turned back to Daniel. Only then did she realize her mistake, Weiss's expression turning into one of horror and dread.

Daniel's hand shot out and wrapped around the girl's neck, only it wasn't Weiss's neck he was squeezing. As soon as Weiss looked down at her high heels, the illusion shattered. In front of him wasn't the girl he'd come to tolerate, it was an entirely different person- one who he didn't know the name to but hated with a passion. What was Weiss's neat white hair, pulled back in a ponytail, was instead now a green mop of straight hair. As well as her icy-blue eyes now as red as wine.

The green-haired girl kicked at Daniel's chest but was abruptly stopped as Daniel slammed her against the door next to them, throwing it open with a loud bang as he stepped into the empty, dark classroom. With the wind knocked out of her and a hand clamping down on her neck, the girl in Daniel's hands stopped trying to attack Daniel himself as she struggled for air, black spots appearing at the edges of her vision. Her eyes slowly glazed over before coming back to focus when Daniel's hand came off. She gasped for breath while her body tried to collapse to the ground, but her neck, wrists, and waist were strapped to the wall with metallic bonds the girl wouldn't have been able to get out of, even if she hadn't been strangled seconds before.

As the Emerald struggled for breath, she looked around in panic before the lights overhead blared to life. Her eyes snapped to near the door where Daniel flicked a light switch. "So, you're the illusion person," Daniel mused with a blank expression, "I could've sworn I heard my mom's voice in the warehouse; guess it was you, instead." He calmly leaned against a desk as Daniel continued to examine his catch.

"How…" Emerald began before she was interrupted by her coughing fit, "How did you know?"

"Easy," Daniel replied as he grabbed the edges of his cape, his Semblance flaring up again as his cloak transformed into a glove covering all the way to his forearm. Daniel held his hand up to inspect his craftsmanship in the light, twisting his hand this way and that while testing the flexibility. "You have to know your facts if you're trying to impersonate a person- Weiss's taste in music is only classics, she doesn't stare at people, and you don't know who Griswald is." With a dark chuckle, he added, "I actually can't believe you fooled me for that long."

"Why this, though?" Emerald spat, her eyes quivering in slight fear, "I didn't do any harm, right?"

"Now, wait a minute," Daniel interrupted with a condescending tone, "I thought you were the one who killed my mom. Or am I remembering wrong?" Before Emerald could even open her mouth, he went on, "Of course it was you. Seriously, no voice modifiers? Not even a wig? Green hair, connections to Beacon so you guys could keep tabs on me, illusions and hallucinations- you're the only person that comes to mind."

A flash of hurt flew across Emerald's face. "I didn't kill your mom," she argued in a meek tone.

"Like hell you didn't," Daniel growled, "You gave her the weapon to kill herself!"

"It was an accident," Emerald exclaimed in a pleading voice.

"Oh, absolutely," Daniel giggled like a madman, "Threatening to kill my mom and then go after my friends if I didn't join. How could I be mistaken?!"

"That's not what I said," Emerald argued, horror a permanent part of her face now.

"Fine," Daniel conceded in a childish manner, "I guess I just have to settle with you killing my mom instead."

"I didn't want your mom killed," Emerald yelled at Daniel as she tried to jerk her arm out of the bond to no avail. "You have to believe me," she pled as Daniel's expression went from insane to rage-filled.

"Okay, I'm done playing," Daniel growled as he pulled the sword off his back.

"Please," Emerald begged, her breaths coming out in ragged, rapid gasps, "No one was supposed to die! We just needed more supporters- I don't want blood on my hands!"

"And I won't either," Daniel broke in. Swinging his weapon around, Daniel inspected his sheath. After a brief moment's wait, he let out a small "Aha" as he clicked a small button near the hilt. A chamber rolled out of the gun-sheath, revealing a rainbow of various Dust crystals. Using a gloved hand, Daniel pulled a specific one out of its place before snapping the chamber shut. He held the Dust crystal up for Emerald to get a good look at the white crystal, black dots littered through its structure like grains of pepper. "Know what this is?"

"Dust?" Emerald replied in a small voice.

"My own creation," Daniel explained, "Some gravity, a bit of fire, ice, water, and lightning in certain quantities." He waved it off, "Nevermind. The point is this thing traps Aura. It steals it from people like a leech. Granted, I'd have to make sure I don't touch it, and it has to make prolonged contact to actually do something, but I don't think that will be a problem here.

"Now," Daniel pulled a roll of duct tape from his belt. "Best tool out there," he chuckled to himself as Emerald's mouth widened in horror and realization. "Now, if you tell me what I want to know, I won't use this. If you don't… well, I've only tested it on myself at a minute at a time. If you have an Aura pool similar to mine, I'll give you ten minutes, maybe fifteen."

"Please," Emerald whimpered as Daniel walked up to her.

"Why are you guys here?" Daniel questioned.

"Don't do this," Emerald begged.

Daniel clicked his tongue as he wrapped a bit of tape around the Dust. "Strike one."

"We wanted a revolution," Emerald rushed out.

"For?"

"I wanted equality. Everyone in power is a corrupt asshole, especially Ozpin."

"How so?" Daniel was now sitting on a desk with a slight interest, tilting his head slightly.

"He has power in politics, society, choosing who gets to be a Hunter or Huntress," Emerald rambled, "W-what is there that he doesn't do?"

"And that makes him corrupt, how?"

"He'd rather keep his power than help people who need it," Emerald spat in jealousy.

Daniel rolled his eyes as he went on, "Next question: why did you kill my mom?"

"I didn't want to," Emerald yelled again, "What part of that don't you understand?"

"The part where you pointed a sickle to her throat," Daniel roared back.

Just then, the door burst open, bathing the pair in more light. Daniel got to his feet, his weapon already out in front of him as he glared at the newcomer. Emerald's eyes also shot to the door, hope quickly turning into dread as she saw Qrow standing at the door with his foot outstretched in front of him.

With a lazy stroll, Qrow walked in and surveyed Emerald, his blank fiery eyes piercing her like he was staring straight into her soul. "Really, Daniel?" he chided, "Are you really sure this is a good idea?"

"What are you doing here, Qrow?" Daniel growled as he lowered his sword.

"Question is, what are _you_ doing?" Qrow jerked his head in a panicked Emerald's direction, "Because from the looks of things, I'm going to have to say, 'something not good'. Who is this, anyway?"

"One of the Queen's followers," Daniel grunted.

"And you decided to torture her, why?" Qrow asked as he closed the door again.

Emerald's eyes flickered between the two men in fear, but a hint of fascination. "Why does anyone? For information, of course," Daniel answered.

"And you think this is the way to do it…"

"What else is there?"

"Actually talking to them?" Qrow suggested with a raised eyebrow. When Daniel didn't have a good response quick enough, Qrow sighed. "Step back and let me," he commanded.

Daniel stepped away and took a seat on one of the tables while Qrow pulled up a chair, sitting right in front of a trembling Emerald like he was about to give an interview. Neither of them spoke a word for a minute as Qrow observed her with his red eyes. "What's your name, kid?" he asked finally.

"What?" Emerald responded, not expecting this calm of a demeanor from Qrow. When all he gave her was a raised eyebrow, Emerald rushed out, "Emerald."

"Emerald," Qrow echoed with a small nod, "Now, tell me, what are you and your friends actually trying to do?"

"We're fighting for a revolution," Emerald answered with a deadly serious expression.

"Political reasons, social, or just because you want to?"

Emerald tilted her head up in thought. "The first one," she answered.

"Now, answer this for me: is that the reason all of you are fighting, or just you?" Qrow inquired with a pointed look.

The natural answer from Emerald would've been: " _All of us_." But, as Emerald opened her mouth, she understood Qrow's question. A look of realization crossed her face as the Hunter in front of her sighed knowingly. "I…" Emerald began, "I don't know."

"How much do you agree with what your leader does?" Qrow questioned. This time, Emerald didn't reply for quite a while. "I'm going to assume that's: 'probably not'. How about the death of Hazel Gotzon? Did you agree with that?"

Easy question. "No," Emerald rushed out with a shake of her head, "No one was supposed to die. All we wanted was for Daniel to join."

"And if he didn't, would your leader want you to kill his mom?" Qrow asked with a knowing stare. Emerald remained silent, staring at the ground with gloomy and dull eyes. Qrow sighed, "Alright, here's the deal. If you start confessing right now, I can probably get you out of the mess you dug yourself into."

Emerald now had a face full of confusion. "What?" she stammered, "You'd just help me? Just like that?"

"Yeah," Qrow affirmed, "Contrary to what you think, you're not a bad kid."

Daniel scoffed from where he sat. "Sure," he drawled with an eye roll.

"Fuck off, Daniel," Qrow growled at the teen. That shut Daniel up nicely. Then, the Hunter turned back to the girl strapped to the wall. In a gentler voice, Qrow tried to get back on track, "Now… where was I?"

"Um," Emerald began, "Not being a bad person?"

"Oh, right," Qrow remembered with a snap of his fingers, "Not a bad kid. Misguided as hell, sure, but not bad. If you explain what your leader's going to do right here, right now, I think I can pull some strings."

"How so?" Emerald asked.

"The history about you might… change. Instead of a strong supporter, I might be able to convince some people that you were a spy for us all along. And with the right amount of information, they'll believe it."

Emerald hung her head in thought, her fingers drumming against the wall behind her. "She's not going to confess," Daniel assumed with a small snort.

He was blatantly ignored when Emerald lifted her head, determination burning in her eyes. "What do you want to know?" she inquired.

Qrow shot a small, smug glare in Daniel's direction. "First, I'd like some names," Qrow suggested.

For the next half hour, Emerald rambled away. She explained everything about her, rather, the Queen's, intentions. Every attack that was supposed to happen, where they would hit, why they were destroying them, how many people they were trying to rally, along with giving away her team. And as she went on, Daniel felt a pang of guilt as he watched Emerald bargain for her life. It wasn't a killer's rambling, like how would they usually go on a huge speech explaining why they did what they loved. Emerald was rambling with a sort of sad hope. As if she knew her efforts may still not be enough, but at this point, she didn't care, and Daniel couldn't help but have his heart stabbed with empathy.

When Emerald was done, she was gasping for breath while Qrow was still processing the onslaught of information. After a good while, he turned to a stunned Daniel. "Your call," Qrow called out.

Emerald's heart plummeted at Qrow's words, gazing over to a blank-faced Daniel. She did nothing but watch as Daniel walked over to her, every step deliberate until he stood to the right of her. For a moment, Emerald closed her eyes in defeat as a blue glow flashed over her eyelids. Then, she felt herself slide off the wall and onto the ground. Shocked, the green-haired girl opened her eyes and looked around, her eyes landing on Daniel who had on a sad, almost unnoticeable, smile. "Welcome to the other side," he greeted softly. He nudged Emerald with his foot when she just gaped at him, her mouth flopping open and close. "You can stand up if you want," Daniel addressed.

That did it for Emerald as she curled into a small ball, her face buried against her hands as she finally let loose a torrent of tears. In that moment, she was freed from everything- freer than she'd ever been under Cinder's hand. From

beside her, Emerald could hear Qrow call to Daniel, "A lot easier than torture, huh?"

Emerald felt a hand press against her back as Daniel sat down beside her, still keeping her at arms-length. "Yeah," Daniel breathed with a sort of mystified voice.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

"Hey, Cinder?" Mercury called out as he swung open the door to their team's dorm. His eyes had concern swimming through oceans of gray. "We got a problem."

Cinder's gaze snapped up from her Scroll which she was using to monitor everything. "What?" she snapped, "What problem could possibly be worse as of right now?"

"Um," Mercury stammered while he backed up a few steps, "W-what do you mean?"

From across the room, Neo, in her usual white and pink coat, tried to quickly wave off Mercury's question, but it was a few seconds too late. "What do I mean?" Cinder steamed as she raised her Scroll with a clenched fist, "I mean Ozpin has somehow locked us out of his system."

"You still have access to the rest of the CCT, right?" Mercury squeaked out.

"And what good is that?" Cinder snapped back, making Mercury jump a foot into the air. She let out a frustrated huff before typing away on her Scroll again, each tap looking like it could break the screen at any minute. "I can now keep tabs on which whiny student is doing what- Ozpin has locked me out of his system! Who knows what he could be planning without my knowledge! Even worse, he has also taken out a few key Scrolls out of the database as well." Cinder's glare was now focused Mercury who let an involuntary shiver crawl down his spine. "What news could possibly be worse now?" she demanded.

"Um," Mercury gulped. He stretched the collar of his shirt as a cold sweat ran down his neck. "Emerald got caught?" he offered.

"What?" Cinder exploded. In an instant, her hand was around Mercury's throat as she slammed him against the wall.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Mercury rushed out in addition to throwing up his hands in surrender, "I'm not the one that was careless- don't shoot the messenger!"

Cinder leaned in until her fiery eyes were inches away from Mercury's. "What do you mean, she got caught?" Cinder growled, huffing out every word individually.

"Emerald…" Mercury began before swallowing the lump in his throat, "She got spotted by Daniel when she was trying to watch him. Qrow also followed when they entered Beacon." Cinder's grip tightened against Mercury's neck, slowly cutting off his air supply. "Cinder, air," Mercury struggled out, his voice raspy and muted.

Cinder hesitated for just a moment, her furious expression not changing as if she was considering strangling Mercury right then and there. Then, after a few more tense breaths, she let go of the gray-haired boy and allowed him to collapse on the floor, a red handprint embedded on his neck. "Fucking hell," Mercury cursed in a raspy breath as he massaged his neck.

Cinder's eyes were ablaze when she turned to Neo who observed the spectacle in front of her with nothing more than a vaguely interested expression. When her leader's eyes pierced her, however, Neo gave her a small, infuriating smile. "Push up the dates," Cinder growled, "We go tomorrow."

"That's impossible," Mercury blurted from the floor in between coughs, "We planned for it to be at the end of the month. It'll take-." His mouth froze in shock as Cinder's hands started smoking. Even with her back to him, Cinder seemed to almost dare for Mercury to go on. "O-or," Mercury stammered, "We could rush the schedule."

"Finally," Cinder sighed through gritted teeth, "Some good news."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

In Ozpin's office, meanwhile, the headmaster was still going through the same hundreds of notes, trying to find any missing links or gaps he may have missed. In the midst of his thoughts, though, the elevator at the opposite side of the room came to his level with a small _ding_ as Ozpin looked up in surprise. His hands blurred over the keyboard as they rushed to turn off his projectors, the holograms over his desk dying down as the doors opened.

Out of the elevator came Qrow, followed by a green-haired girl, and then finally by Daniel who had a hand on his sword's hilt and one inside his belt's pockets. "Qrow," Ozpin started politely as he eyed the girl suspiciously, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Hey, Oz," Qrow greeted with a wave, "I got something we both might want to be repeated." He jerked his head over to the nervous girl in between the two of them. "It's about the Queen."

Ozpin's eyebrows shot up into his hairline as his breathing stopped for a few moments, stunned. "Well, there's no time to lose," he claimed. With a small nod to Daniel's direction, he called out, "There's no need for this to be tense, Mister Gotzon." Daniel nodded with his eyes still on Emerald, full of suspicion. His shoulders slacked as his hands came off different weapons. "Anyhow, I believe you have been asked to be seen by your teammates since Miss Rose has had another… incident."

Daniel's eyes shot wide open as he stumbled back towards the elevator. He rushed in, the doors closing behind him as a worried expression donned his face. When the others heard the elevator going down, Ozpin turned his attention back at Emerald. "Now," he started, his chin resting on the back of his hands, "Tell us your story."

"First," Emerald interrupted while she rubbed her opposite arm, fingers drumming against her bicep, "You have to promise me I won't be a part of them when they go down."

"Who?" Ozpin inquired. With a pointed look from Emerald, Ozpin sighed, "Very well. I can convince the Council that you were under my protecti-."

"No," Emerald snapped, "I'm not going to be associated with you."

Ozpin nodded with another sigh. "Then I could possibly convince them you tipped Daniel off to try and save his mother. That would be sufficient enough to save you backlash from the kingdoms of Vale, Mistral, and Atlas."

Emerald's sighed in relief as a smile finally shimmered onto her lips. "Thank you."

"It should be nothing," Ozpin replied, "if your information is as important as Qrow makes it. First, what is the Queen's real name?"

Emerald stared straight at Ozpin, her gaze not wavering in the slightest. "Cinder."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Ruby was laying on her hospital bed, miserable as all hell with a drip going into her arm when she heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she called out with a tired taper to her voice.

The heavy oak door opened with a small click as Daniel rushed in quietly. When his head peeked around the frame, Daniel donned a small, almost strained, smile as he stared at Ruby. "Hey, Rubes," he greeted in a gentle voice.

"Hey yourself," Ruby replied with a bright grin.

Daniel walked over before he planted a small kiss on Ruby's forehead, making her sigh in content. When he pulled away, he couldn't help but do so with a frown. Every day, Ruby said she was getting better, and every day, Daniel couldn't help but think otherwise. Behind her bright grin were sunken cheeks that grew shallower and shallower with every week. The stomach spasms, as Ruby called them, she had were occurring more and more frequently. And her limbs were so frail she had a hard time shouldering her way through heavy doors.

Now, it was like looking at a shell of Ruby's former glory, her usual upbeat attitude with her head held up high was now downcast when she ducked her head in shame too often for Daniel to like. "How are you doing?" Daniel worried.

Ruby coaxed Daniel to sit by her side with a gentle tug of his arm. "I'm alright, I guess," Ruby answered as he stroked her cheek with the tips of his fingers. With her grin, she nodded her head into his hand, trying to push it away. "Quit it," Ruby chirped.

Daniel tried on a small smirk as he continued to let Ruby rest in his fingertips. But, his memories wouldn't let him have a moment of rest as his smirk disappeared. After another couple of seconds, Daniel sighed as he let his hand go limp. "You think you're going to get better soon?"

Ruby shot Daniel a very pointed, but not harsh, glare. "Why would you say that?" she questioned, "I can't put a timetable on it." When she noticed his expression hadn't changed, Ruby donned a more concerned look. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Daniel buried his head in his hands. When he pulled away, he looked as if he had aged thirty years in thirty seconds, a dark and gaunt pool swirling in his eyes. "I met one of them," Daniel replied.

"One who?" Ruby inquired, "The guys with the Queen?"

"Cinder," Daniel corrected, "Her name's Cinder, apparently." With another sigh, Daniel explained, "Qrow and I, we caught one of them. She was the one there when my mom died- the one that almost handed my mom her weapon. I wanted to hate her, and I did, but I just…" He tapered off, his jaw slack and his eyes starting to water.

Ruby pulled Daniel back down until she enveloped him in a tight hug as Daniel leaked tears, clinging on to Ruby like she was his lifeline. After a minute of Daniel's silent crying and Ruby gently patting Daniel on the back, whispering sweet nothings, Ruby had to tease in a whisper, "I'm the sick one here. I should be sad, not you."

Daniel cracked a sad smile as he pulled away, wiping a few stray tears away with a sleeve. Again, Daniel's smile faded as his lips tightened into a grimace. "She told us their plans," he went on in a shaky voice, "But then again, I think they've changed."

"What do you mean?" asked Ruby, confusion written on her face, "How do you know she's lying?"

"I never said anything about lying," Daniel pointed out, "Qrow made sure she told the truth." When he noticed Ruby's horrified expression, Daniel blurted, "Not anything like that. He promised her safety, so she gave us all she knew. Probably."

"So…" Ruby began, "How do you know they've changed?"

"Think about it. Cinder and her gang have eyes all around Beacon and Vale. Of course they'll know if Emerald was captured." Daniel licked his lips as a million different thoughts raced around in his mind at once. "I'm positive something's going to happen in the next week," he claimed.

Unexpectedly, Ruby's hand shot out and grabbed Daniel's arm, pulling him back into a tight embrace for her. "Stop thinking about that," Ruby demanded in a quiet voice, "Girlfriend's orders. No bad thoughts for an hour."

Daniel had to chuckle as he made his arms snake around Ruby's waist. "So bossy," he teased as Ruby scoot over enough for Daniel to lay beside her. "I swear, next thing you know, you'll be demanding for me to get a new weapon."

Ruby snuggled further into Daniel's chest, a small smile playing on her lips. "Speaking of which…" she began with a slightly guilty undertone. Ruby giggled as she felt Daniel tense up at her words. "I'm kidding!" she reassured, "But I am the better blacksmith."

"In your dreams," Daniel shot back while he placed a kiss on Ruby's forehead.

"I bet you don't even know how to use a forge," Ruby accused in her usual cheery tone.

"You got me there." Daniel's grin broadened when he heard Ruby's melodic laugh ring from beneath his chin. "Thanks, Ruby," Daniel mumbled, burying his face into the top of Ruby's head.

"Hmm?" Ruby murmured as her eyes began to close, "For what?"

Daniel nuzzled in further in response. "For being someone I can love," he answered.

Ruby's heart skipped a beat as an elated feeling lifted her off her feet. Then, eventually, she responded, "Any time for you." before she fell asleep.

As he cradled Ruby close to his chest, Daniel sighed as he tried to enjoy the experience before the memories came again. Sure enough, the image of Emerald, spilling her hearts secrets, seared into his eyes like he'd never left. Again, Daniel kissed the top of Ruby's head as his own became lost in his thoughts. In a soft whispery voice, Daniel murmured, "I love you," in his girl's ear before he himself drifted off to sleep.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Daniel pushed open the heavy oak door leading to Ruby's hospital room, a bouquet of flowers in hand along with one of the books Ruby asked for him to bring. "Hey, Ruby," he called out in a merry voice, "I'm back."

It was the next day, almost eight o' clock at night with the sun dipping down behind the horizon to call it a day. Ruby was staring out of the window when Daniel arrived, attempting to admire the sunset but actually was bored out of her mind. Ruby jerked her head towards the door at the sound of Daniel's voice, giving her a reason to smile for the past boring hour. "You got my book," she exclaimed when her boyfriend handed the small novel to her.

"Yep," Daniel replied before giving Ruby a small peck, "You done anything today?"

"A few final tests and treatments," Ruby answered as she gripped the book, flipping it open to a seemingly random page.

"Really?" Daniel said, shocked, "Then… Are you good? No more cancer?"

Ruby looked up from her book with a small smile. "I'm good," she replied, "But cancer's still there. It's going to take a bit of time; at least, that's what Dr. Treuse said."

Daniel's grin broadened, but at the exact moment he went to open his mouth, a heart-stopping rumble made Daniel freeze in his tracks. The glass of water on Ruby's nightstand almost toppled over without anything near it, making dread grow inside Daniel. He rushed to the window and peered out to Vale, his fears come true.

In the distance, three separate smokestacks billowed up from different parts of the city. One in the far outskirts, one shockingly close to Beacon, and another at the exact location at where the Breach happened. "No," Daniel breathed, fear crawling up his neck along with his dinner.

Ruby turned her head to the window as well, a horrified and resigned look donning her face. "Not again," she mumbled. Turning to Daniel, she sighed, "Well, I guess that's your queue."

"Yeah," Daniel reluctantly agreed. He gazed back at Ruby's downtrodden expression and gave her a brief but passionate kiss. "I'll come back," he promised.

Ruby pressed her forehead against Daniel's as hope tried to replace her dread. "You better," Ruby mumbled back, "Or else Yang's going to kill you for leaving."

Daniel had to let out a small chuckle before his smile vanished. "Promise me one thing," he pled, "Stay here. Don't try and help us. Please."

Ruby pulled Daniel into a tighter hug than before. "I'll stay safe," she promised in a whisper.

Daniel nodded after he pulled away, eyes full of longing as he stared at Ruby. With a sort of force, Daniel stood up and marched out the door like a soldier leaving for a war. His cape billowed out behind him as he glanced over his shoulder one last time to shoot Ruby a sad smile before the door closed behind him.

Ruby stared at the door long after Daniel had left, listening to his feet pitter-patter against the ground as he rushed to join the fray. A lone tear escaped her eyes before the rest of the flood came while Ruby burst into a sobbing mess. "I'm sorry," she whispered to herself.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Out on the streets, it was chaos greater than even during the Breach. Grimm and White Fang members were pouring in the numbers as civilians rushed past Daniel in a frenzy. Nevermores were soaring overhead as they clashed against the dozens upon dozens of airships brought by Atlas while hundreds of robotic troops and students fought against the incoming wave of destruction. The first building had yet to collapse, but there were many close calls as Nevermore came swooping down to try and pick off stragglers before a Hunter or Huntress scared it off or cut its head clean off its body.

Daniel was battering away a Creep with the flat of his blade before impaling an Ursa to his right when Ozpin's voice rang up through the noise of battle. "Daniel," he exclaimed, making Daniel look around for the source.

Scrambling against the tide of frantic people, Daniel finally found Ozpin off in an alley, stabbing a Beowolf with his cane under his shoe. "Professor Ozpin," Daniel shouted, "What's happening?"

Ozpin ripped free his cane as the Grimm disintegrated into a fine powder. "The finale," he replied ominously. Looking up to meet Daniel's eyes, he commanded, "Call up your team. Go back and defend Beacon from Cinder and her allies."

"What?" Daniel questioned, "No one's at Beacon right now! It makes no sense."

"It makes perfect sense," Ozpin snapped, startling Daniel and pushing him a few steps back with just his voice, "The leaders of the kingdoms share information through the Headmasters and politicians- valuable information that could end a few of the kingdoms if they fell into the wrong hands. Since I highly doubt any of these houses in Vale will be left standing by the end of tonight, it makes the most sense for them to target Beacon, not even accounting for the fact that it's completely unprotected."

Daniel cursed, swinging his sword into a nearby wall in frustration. "Then you go back to defend it," he offered, "You're better than any of us."

"You're correct in your second statement," Ozpin replied, "But you're forgetting there's four of you and one of me. As well as my abilities have been known for quite a while now. But you four… you have the element of surprise." When Daniel was about to open his mouth to object, Ozpin snapped, "If you stay here, you would also be assuming my role of commanding the hundreds of students under my care."

Daniel nodded in understanding as he started to back away. He started up in a sprint, calling out over his shoulder, "Consider it done!"

Ozpin sighed while rolling his shoulders, turning back to a Beowolf staring down the opposite side of the alley. "Now then," he said to himself, "Let's see if age has worn me down a bit."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Daniel, Yang, Weiss, and Blake. The four teens rushed through the air docks back towards Beacon. "Here," Daniel shouted at the other three, throwing them a pair of goggles each. "Take these."

Yang stared at her pair of goggles she'd see on an aviator before pocketing it. "What are they for?" she questioned in a shout.

"You'll figure it out," was Daniel's response as they ran through the entrance of Beacon. As they sprinted down another hall, the elevator to Ozpin's office in sight, four figures were already at the doors, trying to pry them open. Daniel pulled out his weapon, froze in his tracks to duck into a kneeling position, and used its sniper function to take aim at the girl in red- Cinder, he presumed with her superior-like posture as she stared at the other three in judgement.

Daniel pulled the trigger as a red ball of fire screamed down the hall. Cinder turned around with shock written all over her face. Just as it was about to hit her, another girl jumped in front of her, opening up an umbrella of all things and using it to shield her boss. A loud _boom_ made everyone freeze from what they were doing. When the dust cleared, the face of the umbrella was almost completely unharmed besides a small discoloration. The girl wielding it hefted it back over her shoulder as she showed off her arrogant smirk.

Cinder let out a huff as the other girl calmly brushed off a bit of dust from her white coat and brown and pink hair. "You just never give up, do you?" Cinder said aloud, obviously annoyed.

Daniel lowered his gun while his teammates stood by his side. "Why should I?" he shouted back, "I'm either going to kill you or die trying."

"Shame you didn't join our revolution," Cinder jibed as she gestured to her three members- the girl in pink, the gray-haired teen from the kidnapping, and Holly. "We could've really used your abilities, and you could've also- possibly- made peace with Holly."

Daniel glanced away from Cinder to Holly who glared back at him with ferocious red eyes. His jaw felt like lead as he continued to stare before Weiss spoke up from beside him, "I can still potentially bring back Holly." Daniel glanced at his partner in shock, and Weiss shrugged indifferently. "I called up my father," she admitted, "History and relationships are important to your family, no?"

Daniel shot Weiss a small smile of thanks before glaring back at Cinder. Without another word, Daniel popped his gun up onto his shoulder and fired off another round. Ready this time, Cinder threw out her hand as a swirl of fire collided with the bright white round. When it connected, it didn't go off into another explosion like she expected. A blinding light shone from the bullet along with an earsplitting ringing noise, enveloping the hallway with things that deafened Cinder's crew.

When their vision returned and their ears stopped ringing, Cinder groggily stumbled onto her feet, a hand pressed to her head as she groaned from the experience. Looking around, the woman in red saw a decimated wall crumbled all around her, pushing them back into a large green field behind Beacon. And the elevator that they wanted to get into- from the rubble covering its entrance, she couldn't even tell if there was still something functioning inside of there or not. "You've been an annoyance for too long," Cinder growled as her companions got to their feet.

Daniel's lips quirked into a sideways smirk. "Get in line," he shot back. Then, turning to his friends, he started, "Which ones are you guys getting? I call Cinder."

"Holly," Weiss called. She drew her rapier, letting the tip rest gently against the ground.

"I'll get the ice-cream girl," Blake claimed, her fingers drumming against her sides in anticipation.

"Then I got the boy," Yang announced as she prepped her Ember Celica.

Cinder frowned as fires swirled around her arms before hardening into a pair of swords. "You do realize how unmatched you are?" she questioned with amusement.

In response, Daniel loaded a small Dust crystal into his shotgun. "Nah," he replied nonchalantly, "I think I'm good." And so, he fired his weapon. Towards the sky above their heads this time, not towards the four opponents as a brown explosion roared to life overhead. "Goggles," Daniel shouted at his friends before strapping on a pair of his own.

The others of DWBY managed to put on their own pairs milliseconds before the Dust started to take effect, pulling in bits of loose dirt and rubble in a swirling sandstorm. Cinder and Mercury both cursed as they tried to guard their eyes and mouths from dust and dirt blowing around them. Neo coolly put her umbrella up against the storm, and Holly formed a small bubble of air around her as a sort of forcefield. Through the debris, Holly's eyes widened as she shouted, "Tuck and roll!" to her teammates before doing the same.

Neo and Cinder followed her orders, but Mercury was a bit slow on the draw as a fist came hurling through the dust storm, knocking him off his feet and back a few. Seconds later, the storm let up as the dust finally settled which allowed Mercury time to scramble to his feet, nursing a bruised cheek. Out in the clearing, the sky was stained with red from the setting sun and black from the dozens of fires raging through Vale.

The four offenders backed up to the center of the field to regroup as Team DWBY out from the wreckage, virtually unscathed. Holly was the first to move after a brief but tense standoff as she drew a war fan and threw it in Weiss's direction. All it took was a small glyph from the white-haired girl to pull the fan down the ground harmlessly, but the flag of war had been waved. The four teens dashed at their opponents, weapons in hand. When they closed half the distance, Daniel yelled at his friends, "Cross up!"

Now, in Cinder's team, all of their attentions were captured by the teen running at them. So, it was a surprise to a few of them when the other four crossed weapons and fired various things at another individual. Cinder and Neo were both fortunate enough to hop backwards to avoid Yang and Daniel's fireballs, while Mercury batted away Weiss's ice shard with a roundhouse. Holly, on the other hand, was so fixated on Weiss that she was blindsided by Blake's round that clipped her shoulder.

With a small curse, Holly sprinted at Weiss as well, throwing a fan before drawing two more from the inside of her cloak. With a small twirl, Weiss few around the projectile before making her way back to clash with the girl. With a small swing, Holly's fan cut through the air where Weiss's neck would've been if she hadn't used a black glyph to stop her movement, the blade almost tickling the skin of her chin. When Holly went in for another slash, Weiss hopped back while deflecting the blade from herself. The instant she landed on her feet, she rushed forward with an experimental thrust.

Holly rolled around Myrtenaster's tip and ducked under a slash made by a small flick of Weiss's wrist. Weiss was about to throw in another quick stab at the crouched girl when a harsh gust of wind threw Weiss back off her feet. Instinctively, Weiss tucked into a roll and allowed herself to be carried backward as Holly came down, both fans folded and in a reverse grip while she stabbed the earth where Weiss was just moments ago.

"Holly," Weiss shouted as she scrambled to her feet. Locking eyes with the blonde, she called again in a stern voice, "You don't have to do this." In response, another fan was thrown at Weiss which was intercepted by her rapier. "You're on the wrong side," Weiss continued to shout, "Stop!"

Narrowing her eyes in response, Holly dashed at Weiss. Weiss kept playing on the defensive, parrying and skirting around all of Holly's attempts to slash, stab, or trip her up. After a few rapid slashes from Holly, Weiss saw a tiny opening and planted her foot firmly into Holly's chest, shoving her away with a small "Oof," from the blonde as the air was driven out of her lungs.

"Can you really fight your brother?" Weiss demanded over the sound of clashing blades and rumbling around her as her teammates battled Cinder's faction, "Can you really hate him for trying to save you?"

"Shut up!" Holly yelled. And with an animalistic roar, she charged again at a patiently waiting Weiss, her rapier up as she prepared to defend herself.

- **xXxX** - **Line Break-XxXx-**

In contrast to Holly, Mercury was having fun, toying with his food. "You know," Mercury mused, amused, as he continued to backpedal away from Yang's punches, "At some point, you're going to have to hit me."

"And you're going to have to hit me," Yang shot back as she jumped up, trying to slam Mercury into the ground.

Mercury hopped out of range and easily brushed off some dust on his shoulder. "I could always just wear you out," he said with an arrogant smirk.

Yang huffed in annoyance as she gave up chasing Mercury. Instead, she turned to let her eyes dart around the battlefield, spotting Neo pressuring Blake closer and closer to the edge of the clearing with a bright grin. Cocking her fist back, Yang was about to throw a blast towards the girl before a foot in the small of her back shoved her to the ground. She scrambled to her feet as Mercury just smugly stood there with his arms crossed, watching as the blonde struggled. "You don't put your back to me," he chided, "I thought I was more important than that."

With a roar, Yang's eyes turned a deep vivid shade of scarlet as her hair started aflame. After a second of composure, though, her hair went back to its golden mane as Yang took a few deep breaths. Then, to Mercury's confusion, she donned a small smirk herself. "If you're just going to stand there, this is going to be easier than I thought."

Mercury narrowed his eyes at Yang's words, hopping slightly on the balls of his feet. "You do realize if you can't gather strength, you'll never be able to hurt me, right?"

Yang rushed the gray-haired boy, catching him slightly off guard as he had to roll to safety. Mercury ended in a kneeling position, eyes widening as he had to roll again when Yang slammed down into the spot he was a few seconds ago. "Pay attention," Yang jibed, "I thought I was more important than that."

Mercury shot to his feet with a small huff of frustration. "Fine," he snapped, "You still haven't touched me yet."

This time, when Yang dashed towards him, throwing a few long-ranged blasts as she closed the gap, Mercury hopped backward out of Yang's reach and easily away from her off-target shots. "Still nothing," Mercury smirked.

Yang growled in frustration as she kept pushing Mercury back- more like Mercury was baiting Yang farther and farther away from doing anything useful. As she threw another punch, Yang spun around, reaching into her jacket for a small item out of Mercury's sight, before spinning back around for a backhand Mercury easily ducked before shoving Yang off balance with a well-placed elbow. It took a moment for Yang to regain her footing, and as she did that, she strapped the small attachment to her knuckles and gauntlets.

Mercury, arrogant as can be, beckoned her forward with a classic " _Come here_ " gesture. Unfortunately for him, Yang did what he asked. With a burst of speed, Yang shot forward with unprecedented speed as Mercury continued to leap out of reach, letting the brawler keep boxing with the air between them. With an amused smile, Mercury watched as Yang threw another straight in his chest. " _She's never going to reach with that,_ " Mercury thought.

He didn't take into account, to his shock, the small metal rings around Yang's knuckles. With a small squeeze of her fist, the silvery brass knuckles around her hand lit up with electricity. Her Ember Celica felt the small surge as it fired off another round, this one stronger and faster than anything Yang had ever thrown. Mercury was blasted back by a mix of electricity and fire, and Yang was to from the recoil.

"Fuck," Mercury cursed as he stumbled away from Yang, cradling his stomach, "What was that?!"

Yang tried to shake off the stinging sensation in her arm- firing that one shot was like trying to hold a cannonball steady while it was being shot from between her hands. "Well," she replied with gritted teeth, "when your sister's a mechanical genius, it's really easy to find different things you can do with your weapons."

Mercury grunted in response. In contrast to his arrogant and smug look like before, he was now crouched down with a serious scowl. "Nice trick," he scowled. Then, he watched as Yang prepped another round in her gauntlets. But again, he was caught off guard when instead of another slow but destructive orb of fire, Mercury was blown back by something that almost looked invisible to his eye, appearing for only a brief second before it was embedded into his stomach a millisecond afterward. Mercury, hunched over and coughing up a fit, sputtered out to a grinning Yang, "W-What did you do to me?"

Yang just smirked as she unloaded the empty shells from her gauntlets, loading two more clips into their chambers. "Trade secret," Yang said as an answer. And with that, the tide was turned as Mercury was not jumping away with smugness, but with a sense of urgency as his eyes narrowed in concentration.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

With Blake, she was in the same spot Yang was in a few minutes ago but in reverse. Instead of not being able to land a blow on her foe, she didn't even have the chance to retaliate against her aggressor's fluid attacks. If she did, Neo would always throw in a quick smack with her umbrella or a short kick.

By the time Blake was able to push Neo away for more than a second, she was nursing a dozen bruises and twice that many cuts. The faunus hissed in pain as she covered a particularly nasty one on her hip, glaring at the heterochronic girl. In response, Neo smiled without her joy reaching her eyes, eyeing Blake with a sense of superiority. She twirled her umbrella around her wrist while slowly walking up to her, as casual as a walk in the park.

"You're really starting to get on my nerves," Blake muttered as she unsheathed Gambol Shroud from its blunt sheath. With a small twirl of her blade, Blake got ready in a crouch.

All Neo did was continue to smirk as she opened up her umbrella, hefting it over her shoulder. Blake shot a quick bullet at the brown-haired girl then charged at her. In response, Neo lowered her umbrella in front of her like a shield before pulling a small trigger along the handle, shooting out a small dart towards a shocked Blake. She batted the small dart away with the flat of her sheath before firing off another round, making Neo strife to the side. As she was distracted for that nanosecond, Blake took that time to shadow herself, activating her Semblance and stopping suddenly. Neo halted in her tracks as well, mystified as she tilted her head in interest.

Neo shrugged it off as she charged her again, her eyes darting back and forth between each version for any type of movement of the two identical copies. In the corner of her eye, she noticed the Blake on her left blink, making her smirk broaden. The brunette faked dashing to the right, making Blake instinctively try and get in a quick jab. But, Neo spun on her heel, ducking into an elegant spin like an ice skater and tripping Blake along the way. She straightened herself as Blake was falling, pulling out the small needle-like blade from inside her umbrella's shaft while rotating and stabbed down. The blade passed through Blake's spine, drawing out a loud wail which broadened Neo's sinister grin. Then, stars circled around Blake's head as something hard bashed out her brain from behind, sending her flying away from the blade embedded in Blake.

Neo skidded a few yards away, landing face first into the soft grass. She silently groaned as she got to her hands and feet, looking over her shoulder to see what had hit her. The assassin didn't believe her eyes when she noticed Blake hovering over… Blake as the one on her feet put a hand on the shoulder of the impaled, drawing in the clone in a shadowy wisp. The rapier formerly going through Blake clattered harmlessly to the floor as Neo watched in disbelief. "I noticed you were really good at mirages," Blake acknowledged in addition to picking up Neo's weapon, examining it from every angle, "I believe shadows are better, though- much more fun to work with."

Neo would've growled if her throat would've allowed it as a stern scowl replaced her usual grin. The girl got to her feet, brushing off a bit of dust from her clothes as Blake put Gambol Shroud's sheath on her back, taking Neo's weapon and using it as her own. A tense silence blanketed them when Neo charged at Blake yet again, this time without the child-like spring to her step. "Now," Blake stated and made herself ready for the small girl, both blades to her sides, "we stop playing."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Meanwhile, in the heat of action, Cinder and Daniel clashed blades before pulling away for another swing. "It's a shame," Cinder admitted without regret as she backstepped a slash from Daniel, "We could've fought together. You can still join us."

"Never gonna happen," Daniel growled as he threw out another jab with his sword. Cinder hopped back, a good few yards away, and threw out her arms. The edgings and golden designs on her sleeves shone a vivid yellow as flames were spewed from her hands in an inferno, directly at Daniel. Expecting something fire-based, Daniel whipped out his gun-sheath and spun the chamber, taking aim and firing at the dead center of the pillar of fire.

Cinder couldn't peer over her torrent of fire, but the black and red bullet hurled into the center of the fire, detonating as soon as it connected. From the impact of the bullet, it appeared as if the fire had stopped in midair as the flames wrapped around themselves and headed back towards Cinder. With wide eyes, Cinder threw herself to the ground as it passed harmlessly overhead.

With a small growl, Cinder got to her feet sans one of her blades. As Daniel started to smirk, his eyes shot wide when Cinder threw out another fireball, making him cower behind his cape. The flames hit Daniel square on the back, throwing him off his feet for an instant before he stumbled for footing. However, Daniel turned around more enraged than hurt. Cinder's mouth made a perfect 'O' as she asked, "But how?"

Daniel gently prodded his cloak which was barely steaming. "Flame and gravity infused," he answered, "Natural flame repellant, at your service."

Cinder growled as she threw out another fireball. As Daniel blocked it by throwing his cape over his shoulder, Cinder's remaining dust-black sword burst into flames in her hands, turning into small bits of smoldering ash that formed a new bow and arrow. She released the arrow as Daniel was still turning his cape, barely getting a glimpse of it before it embedded into his side. Daniel screamed in pain as he collapsed to his knees, a hand over his wound while he tried to stop the blood flow. "You're now a bigger thorn in my side," Cinder growled, "than anyone besides Ozpin."

Daniel hissed and screamed behind clenched teeth as he slowly tugged the arrow from his body, flinching every time he felt it snag inside of him. "Well thanks," he hissed out to Cinder, finally taking the arrow out of his side. Daniel let out another gasp of pain as the blood started to flow out of his wound in heavy amounts between his fingers, making him wrap a small bandage around him tightly. "Why are you doing this anyway?"

Cinder lowered her bow, eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion. "Why am I doing what?" she inquired, "Making this revolution?"

"No," Daniel denied while he stumbled to his feet, "Why this attack? What are you trying to do- label yourself as a terrorist?"

"You wouldn't understand," Cinder assumed before shooting off another arrow at Daniel.

On instinct, Daniel twirled his sword in front of his body, letting the arrow ricochet off the flat of the blade off into the small forest surrounding them. "Try me," Daniel bellowed.

With a huff, Cinder changed her bow back into twin swords, twirling them around as she approached Daniel. "I'm the hero in this battle," she claimed with a mad glint in her eyes, "After this is over and everyone corrupt is taken care of, I can finally show the kingdoms the glory of following me." She spread out her arms as if to bask in her 'glory'. "After all, I will be the only one alive at the end to lead."

Daniel blinked at the fiery girl. "You're right," he affirmed, to Cinder's elation. Just as a warm, victorious feeling rose inside of Cinder, Daniel went on, "I wouldn't understand." And with that, Cinder charged at Daniel with a ferocious scowl as their blades clashed again.

"Pity," Cinder said as Daniel swung his sword, pushing Cinder back a hop, "A few of your friends agreed with me."

Daniel narrowed his eyes even further until they matched his mouth in thinness. As his mind strayed, though, the flat of Cinder's blade shoved the air out of his lungs while another swipe made a small cut on the side of his face as Daniel spun away at the last moment. He hissed in protest as Cinder made a small _tsk tsk_. "Your mind is straying," she chided. Daniel glided his fingers over the wound, wiping away a bit of blood that was dribbling out as he glared at the woman. "Oh, none of your teammates," Cinder assured with a small look of disappointment, "That would've been nice. No, I just persuaded a few… delicate minds that just needed a bit of a push in the right direction."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

"Hey, Pyrrha," Jaune shouted over his shoulder, "Can you give me a hand over here?" He pushed back a small Beowolf and a rodent-like Grimm, like a large rat, away, holding them at bay his sword and shield like hungry wolves.

"Sorry, Jaune," Pyrrha replied from a little farther behind him. She impaled her spear through another Ursa's stomach before flicking upwards, drawing a huge gash in its fur. Pyrrha then spun around on the balls of her feet, battering away a Beowolf's paw with her shield before disarming it literally. "I'm a little busy as well."

Before Jaune could respond, the rat Grimm charged him, its blackened teeth gnashing as it tried to bite down onto Jaune's arm. He jumped back as it approached, but the creature still bit down onto his shield, pulling him back towards it. With wide eyes, Jaune was forced to the ground, but not before he swung wildly and somehow beheaded the Grimm on his shield.

As the rat Grimm dissipated into a fine powder, Jaune scrambled onto his back, throwing his shield up instinctively. A good idea, since a moment later the Beowolf leaped down onto him, forcing the air out of his lungs while the Grimm's claws scraped against his family crest. "Help," Jaune yelled hoarsely as he pushed back against the Beowolf's weight.

Pyrrha turned around once she dispelled the last of the Grimm surrounding her, and her eyes widened at the sight of a trapped Jaune. She rushed over, but panic gripped her as the Beowolf raised a massive paw, knowing that Jaune couldn't block the force of the next blow. The redhead flinched away as the claws came down, but she peeked out from behind her eyelids when an unfamiliarly loud _crunch_ echoed from where Jaune was. Her eyes widened as the Beowolf was forcefully removed from Jaune, and she ducked while the Beowolf was sent flying overhead into a building. The Grimm crumbled to the floor, a split second later dissolving into shadows.

Pyrrha and Jaune looked back at the person hovering over Jaune, shocked for a multitude of reasons. "There," a familiar redhead boy huffed as he hefted his mace over his shoulder, "Now we're even."

"C-," Jaune stammered while his jaw dropped in disbelief, "Cardin?"

The boy in question just smirked as he turned away from Jaune. "What did you expect?" Cardin questioned, "It's my home as well- also, I'm not letting you guys have all the fun."

Jaune let out a genuine smile for the first time that night, pushing himself up off the floor before shaking off his aching arm that held his shield. "Thanks, Cardin," he beamed.

Cardin huffed as he readied his mace in front of him, another pack of Beowolves coming around the corner to challenge them. "Favor for a favor," he brushed off, "You're still dead to me, Arc."

"Whatever," Jaune chuckled while crouching down, bracing for another fight.

- **xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Back at Beacon, Cinder danced away from a furious Daniel. Stunningly, her eyes were as wide as plates as she realized she could barely keep pace with the faunus. "What do you mean," Daniel growled as his slash missed again, "you persuaded people?"

Cinder waited for Daniel to swing overhead again, catching his sword between her crossed swords. She shoved him back just long enough for the two of them to pause for breath. "I just," she gasped out, wincing as a few of her cuts started to sting, "enlightened them."

"What," Daniel demanded, "Did. You. Do."

"Me?" Cinder gasped out, looking scandalized, "I did nothing." Then, with a mad glint in her eyes, she added, "But I can't say about what _they_ might do."

Daniel growled at the infuriating girl, flicking his wrist as his sword hissed and clicked, unlocking the dozens of clasps that held his sword together as the blade came apart to form a razor-sharp whip. With a snap of his new weapon which Cinder danced away from, the fight resumed with a greater intensity.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Pyrrha, Jaune, and Cardin were fighting side-by-side in downtown Vale, near the explosion at the square where the Breach happened. Jaune and Cardin were slaughtering Grimm one by one while Pyrrha, much to their annoyance, was fighting hordes at a time. "Save some for us," Cardin yelled at Pyrrha before bashing in the skull of a Creep.

"You have to keep up then," Pyrrha shot back, almost like she was having fun. She twirled around another clawed paw gracefully, like a dancer, before jamming her spear into the throat of a Nevermore that was swooping down onto her. It careened off course while taking her spear with her, crushing a good dozen Grimm on the way down. Pyrrha cursed lightly as she threw out her empty hand towards the Grimm's slowly disintegrating carcass, using her Semblance to pull her spear back to her hands.

Not letting her mind stray for an instant, Pyrrha caught a slight movement from the corner of her eye and threw her shield at it like a ten-pound frisbee, knocking a Beowolf flat on its back as it stalked Jaune. All he heard was a loud _clang_ behind him as Jaune fought off the third Boartusk in the past three minutes. He turned around to see a knocked out Beowolf, just feet behind him, while a golden disc flew back to Pyrrha's hands along with her spear. Jaune didn't have time to think, however, when another Boartusk rolled at him, making an ear-splitting screeching noise as bone grinded against metal. "Not another one," Jaune groaned as he tried to maneuver his shield in a way so he could stab its stomach while also defending himself.

Eventually, the herd began to thin out as the three of them massacred the Grimm by the numbers. Only a handful was left for each person, just in time since almost all of them were at their limits. Even including Pyrrha who hadn't fought like this in years where she wouldn't know the outcome until it ended. Even her small elation in the joy of not knowing faded out to her as she ran on mostly instinct when her brain all but stopped making coherent thoughts.

Pyrrha was pulling her spear out of the corpse of a Creep, almost collapsing right on the spot, when she spotted Cardin running at her with an unreadable look. "Pyrrha," Cardin shouted in worry, "duck!" He reeled his mace back, slowing down when he started to near her.

Without think, Pyrrha got down into a crouch, tucking her head in like a runner at the start of a race. She heard a _crunch_ reverberate around her as she was forced down even further into the ground. It was a split second later that she realized that the crunch she heard was actually her spine. Pyrrha let out a shrill scream of pain as Cardin slowly removed his mace from Pyrrha's back. He raised his mace again, having the air similar to one of an executioner, and slammed his mace back down into Pyrrha again as her Aura gave away completely.

Jaune, who was killing off the last of his Grimm, looked around wildly when he heard Pyrrha's first screech. His blood chilled when he caught sight of Cardin, hovering over Pyrrha with an almost insane expression. "Cardin," Jaune exploded, charging at the boy as he almost stumbled over his own shoes from exhaustion. "What are you doing?!"

"Something I've been wanting to do for a long time," Cardin replied under his breath. He lightly kicked Pyrrha over onto her side, drawing out another muffled scream as the girl bit down on her lips to the point of drawing blood. Or maybe that wasn't from her lips. "Come on," Cardin chided nastily, "Where's the Invincible Girl now?"

Pyrrha weakly tried to put her arms out in front of her to grab onto Cardin's metal shin-guard. But when her Semblance flared again without any effect, her heart started beating even faster than before. Pyrrha looked up with a mix of fear and disbelief. "Sorry, Pyrrha," Cardin sneered, "I mixed in a few metals you couldn't move with my armor."

From Cardin's words, Pyrrha's arms flopped down to her sides, the fight beaten out of her. Cardin reeled his weapon back again, the metal head shining menacingly overhead in the dim streetlight that still stood. Before he could swing down, though, a force shoved Cardin off balance and onto the ground. Cardin growled as he slowly got back to his feet, looking back to see Jaune helping Pyrrha try and get back on her feet. "You're on the wrong side of history," Cardin yelled at the pair.

Jaune collapsed again, lacking the energy to lift both himself and Pyrrha up at the same time as his legs screamed in protest. The best he could do was to rest Pyrrha against the small ruined fountain in the center of the square. "You mean the side that doesn't kill their friends?" Jaune shouted over at Cardin with a fire burning in his eyes.

"The one that wins," Cardin answered, "And the stronger one."

"How is stabbing us in the back stronger?" Jaune snapped as his knuckles turned white against the hilt of his sword, "Pyrrha trusted you to watch her back!"

"She's everything I hate about Beacon," Cardin spat, "Entitled idiots that bring their friends to their level instead of the strongest- the ones who scammed their way in like _you_ instead of the ones who fought our way in."

"You're insane," Jaune exclaimed with wide eyes, "That's what being a Hunter is- helping the ones who can't fight to learn how to."

Cardin snorted as he gripped his mace. "Apparently we have different views on what a Hunter is."

"Obviously," Jaune shot back. Taking another glance at a helpless Pyrrha, Jaune's expression softened. She looked so vulnerable with her agape mouth and eyes wide, stunned by shock and fear as her reality started to blur with her unconsciousness. Just looking at her brewed up an indescribable rage inside of Jaune as he turned back around to glare at the person that did that to her. With an animalistic roar, he charged at Cardin with his sword raised high above his head.

Cardin waited patiently while Jaune charged at him, batting away Jaune's swing before his mace connected with Jaune's chest. The blonde was shot back, skidding a few feet before groaning, pushing himself up onto his feet. "What are you doing?" Cardin asked humorously, "You can't beat me. You barely laid a finger on me the last times we fought."

Jaune just glared at the redhead before yelling again, running at Cardin while only seeing red. This time, Cardin stepped back away from Jaune, but his eyes widened when he realized the boy wasn't trying to swing his sword. It was too late when Jaune's shield rammed into Cardin's chest, carrying him into a crumbling wall. Jaune stepped back as Cardin slid to the ground, moaning in pain. While he was dazed, Jaune kicked away the mace to the side before slamming his shield again into Cardin's nose, breaking it as Cardin was knocked unconscious.

Jaune set down his sword and shield and grabbed Cardin by the collar of the shirt, a knee pressed against his chest as he bashed Cardin's face over and over again as grief wracked his body. After a full minute, as he continued to pummel an unconscious Cardin, a small wail broke Jaune from his trance. Turning back around, his gaze caught Pyrrha trying to move on her own, before flopping back down to the ground, useless. Jaune quickly scooped up his weapons and strapped them to his side, and then he was by Pyrrha's side in an instant. "Pyrrha," he said breathlessly, gingerly resting a hand on her shoulder.

Pyrrha flinched away like she was burned but immediately regretted it when her back lit up in pain. She screamed again, collapsing to the ground and going rigid. "Pyrrha," Jaune exclaimed, his voice growing more and more panicked by the second, "It's Jaune!"

"Jaune?" Pyrrha whimpered, finally looking at the blonde with a flurry of emotions. "I- I can't feel my legs," she claimed in horror.

At her words, Jaune had to clamp down on his tongue to fight back a scream and the instinct to go back and bash Cardin's brain in. "You're going to be fine," Jaune promised, but his words sounded empty even to himself who tried to put as much enthusiasm in his voice. Jaune gently wrapped his arms around Pyrrha's sides, every small twitch of his hand stabbing Pyrrha's nerves with a fresh wave of pain. An excruciating eternity later, Jaune had Pyrrha in his arms as he stumbled down the streets, not caring about a thing besides getting his partner to safety. "Just hang on for a little longer," Jaune begged, "Okay?"

Darkness had almost engulfed Pyrrha's vision as she started to black out, but she nodded as her head rested down onto Jaune's shoulder. As her eyes closed, she looked back up at Jaune's face, noticing hope start to replace the stoic look as Jaune shouted at something beyond her vision, "Hey! Over here!" Pyrrha felt a jostle as Jaune collapsed to his knees, and then her mind went black.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Back over at Beacon, Mercury was still ducking and diving away from Yang as he sported a couple new bruises. Yang herself had bruises running up and down her sides, but not as many as Mercury. "You know," Mercury started with a pant, "Even if you beat me, you have no chance against anyone else. I've got you tired out, and you can barely put a bruise on me if you tried."

Yang wiped away a few beads of sweat from her forehead, her arm coated in it from doing it so often for the past half hour. Despite that, she had the audacity to smirk. "Who said I can barely hurt you?" she shot back.

Mercury frowned at her response, keeping on his toes for something unexpected. "Your Semblance has barely been touched," he answered quizzically, "How do you think you're going to hurt anyone else?"

Yang grinned ferally as her eyes lit a vivid scarlet. "Who says I've barely used it?" Yang inquired.

Mercury's frowned deepened, but it was quickly wiped by Yang who planted a fist into Mercury's cheek, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Mercury was blown back as he slowly skidded to a halt across the grass. He shakingly got to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of grass at the same time he stared at Yang, flabbergasted. Yang just quirked her mouth slightly, getting back into her boxer's stance. Mercury shook his head to try and shake off the ache in his jaw and almost missed Yang charging at him again.

Yang planted a foot into the ground, kicking off with more force than could be imagined. In a few bounds, she was standing face to face with Mercury while her arm was already planted into Mercury's stomach. Mercury coughed and sputtered as he crumpled to the ground, his stomach feeling as flat as a piece of paper. Looking around, Mercury started noticing the dozens of craters around them. All made by, to Mercury's horror, Yang when she'd slam her fists against the ground as she missed Mercury.

"You-," Mercury managed out before starting in a coughing fit, "You injured yourself? Just to grow stronger?"

Yang cracked her knuckles as she replied, "Nah." Leaning down, her face a few inches away from the gray-haired boy's, she added smugly, "Let's just say I got better with my Semblance." That's all Mercury heard before another blow to the back of the head put him out for good.

Exhausted but still jumpy, Yang looked around the battlefield at the three other fights happening around her. Weiss was battering away another one of Holly's fans with a small white glyph before she lunged forward, her rapier extended in front of her. Holly jumped away but not without a small nick in her arm. From the brief breathing room, Weiss caught Yang's eye as the blonde started to make her way towards her teammate. "Don't," Weiss yelled as Holly came back at her with an overhead slash of her fans, "Help Blake or Daniel. I have it under control."

After a moment, Yang nodded reluctantly before rushing over to Blake who was rolling away from Neo's umbrella. Weiss, unable to look around as she locked blades with Holly, mumbled to her opponent, "Stop, Holly."

"Why should I?" Holly spat back. She pushed down onto Weiss as the heiress slowly was pressed down onto one knee before one of Holly's found its way into Weiss's stomach. Weiss was thrown backward by the impact, and Holly's knife was able to cut a long, shallow gash into Weiss's side. "Why should I stop?"

Weiss tried to push herself back onto her feet, but her arms gave way as she fell back down with a small gasp of pain, landing on her newest wound. "Why are you fighting, anyway?" she demanded Cinder's little pet, "What do you have to gain from this?"

Holly opened her mouth for a retort and closed it just as quick when she realized, with a small chill, she was at a loss for words. "S-shut up," Holly exclaimed in rage, swinging her fan wildly at the prone girl.

Weiss threw out her hands towards the charging blonde, a small snow-blue glyph appearing in front of her palms. Almost like she was shooting them from her body, a flock of white birds appeared from the glyphs, swarming the poor blonde and blinding her. Holly spun round and round as she tried to swat away the dozens of birds flocking around her head. As she neared Weiss, Weiss stuck out a foot, and Holly crashed to the ground with a thud, her arms still covering her head as the remaining snowbirds kept pecking away at the girl.

Taking her chances, Weiss crawled over on top of Holly, pinning her arms against the ground while planting a knee against her chest. When she realized what was happening, Holly began to madly flail back and forth, trying to buck off the light girl on her chest. It stopped abruptly when Holly found the cold tip of a rapier resting against her windpipe. With a small glare, Holly began to calm down as Weiss stared down at her, her chest heaving with exhaustion. "Stop," Weiss commanded.

"Go fuck yourself," Holly spat back as the rapier started to push against the skin of her throat.

"Why the hell are you fighting anyway?" Weiss questioned.

"Because you sided with Daniel," Holly shouted in Weiss's face, "You're siding with the person I most wish was dead."

"For what?" Weiss snapped back, "Being dragged away from trying to help you or trying to save your life?"

"Liar," Holly yelled again. She tried to break an arm free, but the knee pressing against it started to dig into her bone, making her wince in pain. "Daniel abandoned me!"

"That's not how it happened!" Weiss exclaimed in frustration, "You were fed lies by your so-called Queen so you'd do her bidding instead of think for yourself."

"No, I wasn't," Holly yelled, sounding more and more like a child every second, "You're wrong!"

"What do you think will happen if you win?" Weiss questioned, "What then? Do you expect your Queen to take care of you like the mother you already had in your actual mom?"

Holly's fist clenched as she tried to reach for Weiss's throat, but she couldn't keep the panic from seeping into her eyes. Doubt was already on its way as the blonde continued denying, "Cinder's always been the one to take care of me when Hazel abandoned me."

"Does she truly care about you," Weiss implored, "or is that what you think?"

Holly didn't answer as memories came flooding back. The countless beatings, hundreds of scorns, trying to get Cinder to care for her instead of discipline, every single disappointed look from her "mother".

Weiss had one last thing to add to Holly's already mind in turmoil. Fishing in one of the folds of her skirt, she took out a small picture from her pocket and held it up for Holly to see. Holly's expression softened, her eyes started to water when she laid them on the picture Weiss had of her family. "What would your father think?" Weiss asked gently.

Holly's thrashings came back up violently as Weiss barely managed to keep her on her back. "Shut up," Holly repeated her mantra, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Slowly, Holly stopped trying to get free and broke down into tears. "Shut up," she kept repeated as her fists unclenched. Weiss hesitantly got off the poor girl's chest, eyeing her with caution with one hand on her rapier. She didn't need it, however, when Holly curled up into a small ball, burying her face into hands. "Shut up," Holly continued to whisper to herself.

Pity consumed the heiress as she sat by Holly's side, reaching over and setting an arm down on Holly's shoulder. Holly didn't even try to shake off the Schnee as she sobbed for another few minutes, eventually looking up with eyes as dull as her heart. "What do I do?" she begged in a whimper.

Weiss shook her head while she gave the girl a one-armed hug. "I don't know," she admitted as Holly stared emptily at Weiss.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Meanwhile, Blake was still fixated on the small, deadly girl in front of her. With the element of surprise and her newest addition to her Semblance, she was able to get a few hits in on Neo while also nimbly dodging her attacks. But, Neo was able to adapt fast, and the tables were once again turned, especially when Neo used her own illusions. Backstepping, Blake avoided another one of Neo's swipes with her needle-like weapon before running forward for a quick stab. When it made contact with Neo's skin, though, the illusion shattered like glass as the real Neo popped out from behind it, making another red mark across Blake's arm.

Blake hissed while she jumped back, avoiding the second swipe Neo drew in the air. Again, Neo smirked as another small victory was rewarded, but when she tried to use her Semblance again, she got a nasty shock when her image blurred slightly before coming back into focus again. The mute girl cursed as she tried again to no avail. With calculating eyes, Blake took her chance and sprinted forward, shooting out a few rounds as she approached. Neo opened her umbrella up, the bullets ricocheting off in all different directions, and peered over the top of her makeshift shield. She ducked back down when Blake's katana stabbed the air where her head was a moment ago, cutting away a few pink and brown hairs.

Neo threw herself forward, careening into Blake and forcing them both to the ground. With the faunus pinned under her umbrella, Neo fumbled for a small button on the shaft of her weapon. Unfortunately for her, a certain blonde wouldn't allow her to harm Blake as Neo was thrown off with a solid punch. The heterochronic tumbled for a bit before tucking into a roll, ending turned around on one of her knees. Neo's eyes shot out of their sockets as she rolled away again, the tree behind her obliterated by another one of Yang's punches. As she got to her feet, Neo put out her umbrella behind her, which was a good idea as she was forced back by yet another punch, although she managed to stay on her feet.

At this point, beads of nervous sweat started to pour from Neo's face as she anxiously faced a fired-up Yang. Neo tried to take a step back but was stopped by a black sash wrapped around her ankle. The mute looked at the band, surprised, when Yang ran in with her fist winded back. Neo tried to hop away, but a small tug on Blake's end of the rope made Neo fall to the ground with the air driven out of her. Then, black spots dotted her vision when Yang's fist connected with her cheek, driving her further into the soft grass beneath her.

The next time Neo's vision wasn't blurred like she was underwater, she caught Blake stumbling forward by Yang's side. Yang put up a hand which Blake gratefully gave a victorious high-five as they stared down at the beaten girl. Neo scrambled onto her back, propping herself up by her elbows. Her pink and brown eyes darted back and forth, panic and fear slowly building up in her multicolor eyes. "You're done," Yang panted, her chest heaving with every breath, "Give up."

A small bit of fire burned in Neo's eyes at Yang's words. Without a noise, Neo raised her umbrella up, the tip pointing straight at Blake. Blake noticed the small hole at the very tip of the end, and then she spied the small feral grin Neo was sporting. With wide eyes, Blake batted away the umbrella from her face. A millisecond later, Neo pushed a small button on the shaft of her weapon.

Blake's racing heart stopped beating so hard after the close call, but it picked right back up when Neo's maniacal grin didn't vanish. Following her gaze, Blake spun around to where the shot ended up. A sharp gasp from Blake also drew Yang's attention away from Neo as horror filled the two girls. Taking her opportunity, Neo scrambled backwards and into the forest without a second thought, not even looking back to relish the anguish she just caused for a particular hooded figure.

- **xXxX-Line Break: a minute ago-XxXx-**

A few minutes beforehand, Daniel was still trying to survive his fight with Cinder. He gritted his teeth as he parried away another one of Cinder's powerful slashes, backing up with every exchange as Cinder kept pressuring him to the edges of the clearing. When another stab from Cinder's ashen swords came his way, Daniel hopped back a good distance away. As he hit the ground, Daniel slapped the earth beneath him, a blue glow shining from his fingertips as his Semblance flared up again. As Cinder charged at him again, a solid wall of rock formed in front of her face. A few seconds later, the single wall became two, and then four, and then a small dome formed around Cinder, locking her in a tight cell not even the moonlight could penetrate.

Daniel stood up, his legs shaking from the effort, as he stared at the 10-foot block of dirt in front of him. He wiped a bit of sweat from his face before the adrenaline started to seep from his muscles, making him painfully aware of the dozens upon dozens of scrapes he had along his body. Daniel winced and hissed as he collapsed onto his knees, holding his sides and a certain nasty cut along his arm. As he tried to nurse his wounds, though, the front of the mount exploded out with an explosive force, and out came an enraged Cinder who somehow managed to light her twin swords ablaze. Daniel tried to scramble back, holding his sword up to defend himself, but Cinder swatted away his weak defense, throwing his sword somewhere into the trees lining the forest.

Cinder glared maliciously at the boy at her feet. Without breaking eye contact with Daniel's blue and red fearful eyes, she pointed her swords back towards where Daniel was trying to crawl back to, drawing a line of fire that cut off Daniel's escape. "You and your friends," Cinder spat as Daniel looked over his shoulder in horror, "You're an even bigger nuisance than Ozpin." She pointed a flaming sword at the teen. "You, Daniel, have been a bigger thorn than I could have possibly imagined, and you're going to die for it."

"Bite me," Daniel snapped back, his voice wavering in spite of himself.

"You've ruined everything," Cinder exclaimed, on the brink of hysterics, "It was my destiny to lead Vale! I was supposed to be the force that brought our people together, but you and your friends had to destroy it. I should've killed you they day we first met."

Daniel laughed at her face as got to his feet defiantly. "Should've, would've, could've," he mocked.

With a roar, Cinder threw her hands forward, a raging inferno produced in front of her that boiled anything it touched- the grass, the earth-, and it was heading right for Daniel, who's heart now racing a lightyear a second. Again, Daniel tried to duck behind his cloak as the flames licked against his clothes, audibly hissing as it made contact with the fire-infused fabric. After a few seconds, Cinder dropped back, stumbling as she depleted nearly everything she had in that one attack. To her astonishment, she witnessed Daniel peek out from behind his cloak, fear starting to build as she wondered how much power he held. Cinder let out the breath she didn't know she was holding when Daniel dropped to his knees, letting out ragged gasps as his cloak slowly but surely heated up. The lines of Dust where he entwined it with his cloak glowed a bright vivid red before completely dying down. And to Daniel's horror now, it just… crumbled. Like it was made of sand as the remains fell into a heap of ashen nothing in front of him.

Daniel then stared at his hands which were used to wrap his cloak around him when the inferno hit, and his scream pierced that night sky. Looking down, Daniel saw a bloody and boiled mess of what his hands were, still distinctively a hand but with massive boils running along his palms as a few layers of skin were torched away. Cinder, who was beginning to see dark spots in her vision, stared at Daniel with a sickened victorious feeling tugging at her gut. "Goodbye, Daniel," she ended as she raised an arm at a completely defenseless teen, "And good riddance." And again, flames shot out of her palm. Not as severe as what she had done, but enough to sufficiently end a weak Daniel.

Daniel flinched away, closing his eyes as he waited for the inevitable. A second passed without him being engulfed in flames, so Daniel peeked an eye out before both of them flew open, gaping at the scene in front of him.

There, standing in front of him, battling the flames, was Ruby in all her glory. Black and red combat skirt, unmistakable red cloak, and with her scythe in hand, she had her hands out in front of her, using whatever Aura she could muster as a sort of force field. The flames danced around Ruby's frame, waving off an invisible barrier to either side of her. "Ruby," Daniel screamed in horror, "What are you doing? You'll kill yourself!"

"I don't care," Ruby yelled back, ducking her head and shutting her eyes tight as another pang of the stinging sensation stabbed her stomach.

"Get out of here!" Daniel demanded with a panicked tone. He pushed himself off the ground, biting down on his bottom lip as his hands screamed in pain, and started to make his way to Ruby's side. Through his haze of pain, Daniel swore that the fire was getting cooler, lifting his spirits the slightest bit.

And that's where everything went wrong. Even more than they already had been. From seemingly out of nowhere, a small dart escaped through the flames, clipping Ruby in her arm. That brief moment of distraction was enough for Ruby to cry out in pain, stumbling back as her Aura was involuntarily lowered. Without it, the flames came rushing back in as Daniel tackled Ruby to the side. Even then, Daniel hissed out as the heat licked against his back, almost certain that a good portion of the back of his clothes was seared off. A split second later, the fire stopped as Cinder collapsed on her back, now too exhausted to even get up onto her feet. The damage had already been done, though, as Daniel peeled himself away from Ruby. With a quick glance, Daniel almost threw up at the sight of her on the ground, mangled beyond what Daniel wanted to believe.

"Oh, god, Ruby!"

 **AN: Well… you're welcome? Hey guys, Fireflame here. And there we have it- Chapter 26 has come and gone. First and foremost, I want to give huge thanks to a couple of people. Cindermane, TheGreenDooredBookshop, and Mtop70 all helped me revise certain parts of this chapter, so thank you! (Also, TGDB, I was going to do something extremely bad to everyone at the end, but your review Chapter 19 or so just made me say no. Sorry). And Cindermane, RUBIEL WILL LIVE ON. Or not. Depends, really, but let's hope I haven't sold my heart so I can let them live.**

 **Holy cow, do I not want to write for like a year right now. I started this chapter the day I released the last one, and I've put like an hour a day, every day, since that day, into this. I wanted to only have 2 chapters left, but then I realized I spaced this out so horribly. Longest chapter yet at over 18k words (*pops a party favor unenthusiastically), so you can probably see why I'm just tired for the entire month.**

 **Anyway, about the chapter. Yeah, about the poll I wanted you guys to take, it wasn't for Blake and Weiss. Well, it was at first. When I started the poll, I had about 4 endings I could've taken. 3 people die, 2 people die, 1 person dies, or nobody dies. And when you guys voted for Weiss over Blake, I realized only had 2 of those ready, so I just cut the others. Now, I'm still debating on who to kill. Because I sort of want to just end one of them, but I've grown so attached. And I'm not supposed to do that, I'm the author for Pete sake!**

 **Rambling, sorry. Oh yeah, Pyrrha's back is broken. Whoops, that happened. I probably had that already planned out by chapter 12 or so. About that whole "I'm not going to touch JNPR"? Yeah, well… that didn't happen.**

 **Hey, it could've been worse! I could've done what I originally intended, which was kill Blake off, make Daniel turn Mercury's legs into bombs, potentially make Fox turn on CFVY- you know, the stuff that I thought, "I probably shouldn't do this".**

 **Wow, were are at 38.9k views. Excited to all extremes right now. I'm gonna call it- we'll hit 40k at the very end of this story. Let's do it!**

 **Well, anyway, there was Chapter 26, my longest one yet. And on May 26** **th** **, Chapter 27 is coming out. So, I'll wait for you guys then. Enjoy your May!**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


	29. Chapter 27: Haunted (Finale)

**For anyone reading, welcome! Thank you for reading. And thanks for the memories. Now, on with the finale!**

" _For some, only something or some_ one _worth dying for makes life worth living._ " - _Everlasting Promises_ by Starblade176 ( **AN: I'm ending the story with the best quote from the story that got me into writing.** )

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY in any way. If I did… (*starts to daydream for an entire day before actually dreams for the rest of the night*).**

 **Disclaimer 2: Guys… we hit 40k. Not only that, we got 41k. T-t-thank you. Just… thank you for your support. And if you made it this far… I think you all deserve a happy ending for your stories. This one though, the title's all you need to know.**

Chapter 27: Haunted

"Oh god, Ruby!" Daniel's scream pierced the night sky as he stared at the girl in his arms in horror.

Cinder, off to the side, crawled on her hands and knees. Her breaths came out in ragged gasps as she wearily lifted her head, gazing at Daniel holding a mangled Ruby. A victorious laugh escaped Cinder's throat, at first no more than a stutter to her breathing but eventually built up until it was a manic giggle. She was forcefully silenced, though, when Yang appeared by her side with her knee snapping Cinder's neck to the side. Cinder tumbled to the ground, her jaw unquestionably shattered while a few of her teeth were knocked out.

Daniel missed all of this as he brushed off a bit of ash away from Ruby's face with his boil-riddled hand, his mouth a permanent 'O' as his stomach knotted itself while he continued to stare at his girlfriend. " _If I had just been a bit quicker,_ " Daniel cursed himself, " _If I was just a bit stronger_."

These thoughts ran through Daniel's head as he tried to ignore what he'd done to Ruby because of his weakness. Ruby coughed out a bit of blood as she stared at her stump of a right arm, completely gone all the way up to her bicep. The skin was still bubbling slightly from Cinder's fires, and the flesh around it was charred to either an unhealthy red or even black. A portion of her face was now scarred for life as well as her clothes which were smoking whenever Daniel tried to cradle her closer to his chest.

Daniel rocked back and forth with Ruby's head clutched against his chest, tears streaming down his face as the floodgates to his eyes released. "Why?" Daniel sobbed as he buried his head into Ruby's smoldering shoulder, "Why did you do it?"

Ruby was numbly aware of Daniel's words, smiling as she tried to reach up and stroke Daniel's hair back. A pang of horror jolted her as she couldn't feel Daniel's ash-ridden hair, or even her hand, for that matter. Ruby sighed as she answered, "You would've done the same."

"But you-," Daniel cried, "You were going to get better. Everyone wanted you to live- they could barely care about me."

Ruby grimaced before she interrupted herself with a cough, spraying a red fluid all over Daniel's shoulder. "No, I wasn't," Ruby whispered, shame starting to seep into her words.

Daniel pulled back ever so slightly, staring at the girl in his arms in horror. "W-what?" Daniel stuttered, "But you said-."

"I know," Ruby cooed as her breathing eased to a slow rise and fall of her chest, "The doctors, though, gave me two days."

"Two days?" Daniel exclaimed, tears trickling down his cheeks, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"If I did tell you," Ruby asked, another cough forcing its way through with another spray of blood, "would you have come here?"

"Yes," Daniel insisted, wiping away his endless tears, "I would've done it for you."

"But you wouldn't," Ruby disagreed while her voice was barely above a whisper, "I know you wouldn't. You only fight for what you cared about, so you would've stopped."

Daniel choked back another tearful sob as he clenched his fists, determination starting back up. "I could've healed you," Daniel began, "I can heal you now."

"No," Ruby denied, tears prickling against her eyes as well, "You're not doing that again. I finally got to be the hero. You're not taking that away from me." A sob escaped her as Ruby added, "Please." Daniel's response was that his sobs intensified, his hands shaking as he tried to hold his girl steady. "You'd kill yourself, anyway," Ruby added, "And I also took way too many pills to even get here. It would've killed me before the cancer."

As quickly as it started up, Daniel's sobs suddenly stopped. Taking a few, shuddering, deep breaths, Daniel gently laid Ruby back down onto the ground, stroking her cheek almost longingly. "Sorry, Ruby," he whispered, "I want to play the hero as well."

"Daniel, don't you dare," Ruby warned. She could only watch helplessly as Daniel stumbled to his feet, giving Ruby a small salute and a half-hearted smile before padding away. Ruby tracked Daniel as he made his way to the edges of the clearing, picking up his sword with a muffled scream, and she watched as he fumbled for a few switches on the side of his sheath.

Ruby's line of sight was broken by a worn leather boot as Yang finally was able to step up to the sight of her sister. A sob rang above Ruby as her sister bent down, curling her arms around Ruby as Yang sobbed into her stomach. Two other cries somewhere behind her made Ruby dimly aware of Weiss's and Blake's presences, but she was still staring at Daniel who pulled out a small crystal from his weapon. Her blank eyes followed him as he walked back to the group with his head hung.

"Daniel," Ruby whispered despite knowing Daniel wouldn't be able to hear her voice lost in the wind, "Please, don't."

An eternity later, Daniel was again kneeling by Ruby's side, in his hands a spotted white crystal. "Move," he commanded the others in a monotone voice, "I'm healing Ruby."

Yang pulled herself away from her sister's side, staring at Daniel in question. "Just trust me," Daniel begged as he held up the crystal for her to see. Yang took another glance at her sister as her heart was constricted yet again. With a bit of reluctance, Yang slowly stood on her feet as she backed away.

" _Anything for Ruby._ "

During all this, Ruby's eyes began to close. They started to weigh too much to keep open, even when she tried with all her might. "Don't, Daniel," Ruby pleaded again.

Daniel shook his head as he stared at the Dust in his hands, watching a sort of wispy figure dance inside of the crystal. "I guess this is why I stored this much Aura," he mused as Daniel crushed the Dust in his hand, releasing the Aura trapped within. Daniel let out a small wail of agony as Aura raced through him, threatening to spill out as he tried to contain the unruly energy. His hands started vibrating with energy while Daniel himself seemed to hum with Aura as a slight blue glue enveloped him.

Daniel looked down at the girl at his feet, the girl who was fighting for every breath. "You couldn't help but save me," he muttered to Ruby, "and I can't help but save you. Let's hope this is the last time." And with a final breath, Daniel choked out, "I love you," before pressing his palms against Ruby's chest and head, a blue light shining out from his Semblance before it quickly enveloped the entire clearing around them.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Pain.

That's the first thing Ruby felt when she regained conscious. Ruby let out a moan as she tried to move something, anything, and found she barely had the strength to move her mouth to let out another groan.

Then, her eyes blinked open.

The world seemed to swim for Ruby as she stared up at a bleary ceiling, looking more like an abstract painting than real life. Ruby dimly noticed the white tiles and the fluorescent lights overhead before she realized where she was.

A hospital.

Ruby couldn't help but breathe out a sigh of relief. A smile stretched her mouth as she started to laugh, her breaths staggering as she tried. It was quickly halted by the pain that had to come back around again, pounding Ruby's head with another mental hammer. Ruby had already exhausted herself, though, as she slipped back unconscious, but not before she heard someone yell, "She's awake!" from somewhere at her feet.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

The next time Ruby awoke, she felt a bit more refreshed. No longer did a painful headache linger in her brain with the waiting mental gong; it now felt more like her head was just inflated to a size too large with the uncomfortable throbbing. And now, she was finally able to move around. But, Ruby soon found out the hard way how stiff her muscles were as she hissed when she tried to push herself up to a sitting position. For the first time in… she didn't know how long she was out, Ruby was finally able to look around the room.

Ruby was in the same hospital room she'd come to know painfully well- the room may as well have had her name printed on the door outside, just from how much time she had to spend in there from her multiple chemos. But, there was a new addition to the room. In the back corner was a new curtain drawn up, cutting off the corner from the rest of the room.

"You're awake," A voice sounded to Ruby's right. Ruby's attention was jerked away from the curtains as she- ignoring the dozens of muscles that tried to lock up her neck- turned her head towards the sound's origin. There, sitting on a plastic seat near the door, was a white-haired man, inspecting her with red eyes. "How are you awake?" the man wondered aloud, putting his hand to his chin.

"Hello?" Ruby greeted with an unsure tone. Her voice sounded like more like a frog's croak than her regular one. "Who are you?"

The man snapped his fingers. "Sorry, I should've introduced myself. Douglas Griswald- one of Ozpin's friends and Semblance expert."

"I remember you," Ruby announced, "You're the one that trained my sis."

"That's right," Griswald agreed, "And you should probably get some rest."

"But I feel-," Ruby started to protest before interrupting herself with a yawn, "I guess I need it. But why'd you ask that?"

"Hmm?" Griswald replied with a sort of stunned look.

"Why'd you ask how I was awake?" Ruby asked again, her head thumping against the pillow as she already started to drift.

Griswald clicked his tongue, looking crossed with himself. "Nevermind," he waved off, "I'll tell you when you can stay awake long enough to hear about it." Ruby would've protested if she was still awake, leaving Griswald with a silence. "You should be dead, though," he muttered under his breath.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

The next time Ruby awoke, the sun was halfway on its trip to the top of the sky. With an almighty yawn, Ruby stretched her arms high above her, smacking her lips a few times as she felt at complete bliss.

It always had to be interrupted, though, this time by a flash of blonde hair. "Ruby," a voice cried out as Ruby was tackled by someone, shoving her down to the bed with a hug.

Ruby let out a croak, intended to be a heartful laugh, as she patted her sister on the back. "Hey, Yang," Ruby greeted in a whisper.

"What are we- less than your sister?"

Ruby peered around Yang's golden mane at the other two tearful girls standing at the edge of her bed. "Hey Weiss, Blake," Ruby added, "How long was I out?"

Yang pulled away as the other two girls constricted her with their own hugs. Only then did realize the tear stains Yang had left on Ruby's robes when Yang wiped away the remainders on her eyes. "Three weeks," Yang sniffled, "You were asleep for three weeks."

At her sister's words, Ruby froze up. "That long?" Ruby questioned, "W-what happened when I was out?"

"Well," Blake started as she and Weiss peeled themselves away from Ruby, "Vale's in repair right now. Everyone that attacked it is now-."

"So, we won?" Ruby interrupted, eyes full of hope and pride, "No one got hurt?" The exchanged glances between her friends let doubt bubble and simmer in Ruby's chest. "Guys?" she drawled. Then, she noticed the elephant in the room- rather, the one not currently in there. "Where's Daniel?" Ruby asked, turning her head this way and that like she would see him behind one of her teammates. "What happened?" Ruby asked again, the heart rate machine next to her starting to _beep_ up a storm, "What happened to Daniel?"

"That, I'm afraid," a new voice answered, "is a harder question to answer than you might think." From all the hugging earlier, the four girls never realized someone had joined them as they all turned towards him. "Hello, girls," Griswald greeted with bags under his eyes, "Sorry for interrupting a tearful reunion."

"Professor-," Ruby started.

"Just Griswald, my dear," Griswald interjected with a wave of his hand.

"Okay, Griswald," Ruby corrected herself, "Where's Daniel?"

"That," Griswald started with a finger raised, "is an easier question. Why he's in this room right now."

Ruby's eyes strayed to the small, cut-off section hidden by the blue curtains. "Then-," she breathed.

"You shouldn't see him," Griswald quickly interrupted, putting himself between the curtains and a cross Ruby, "First, I wanted to ask you a couple of questions because they link to Daniel's condition."

"What condition?" Ruby questioned, "Why are-?"

"Later," Griswald sneaked back into Ruby's question, "Now, what do you remember? From the night of the second Grimm attack? What was the last thing you recall?"

Ruby winced as she tried to recall the memories. "The fire," she answered in a whisper, "I remember Daniel trying to save me from the fire."

Griswald nodded before asking away, "Do you know how you survived?"

Ruby shook her head, frustrated. "I just remember the blue light; that's it."

Griswald cursed as his assumptions proved true. "Very important question," he finally asked, "Do you know how bad your situation was?"

From the reactions Yang and her teammates gave her, Ruby knew it had to be pretty bad. "I know cancer," Ruby said in a low voice, "And the bottle of pills I took weren't good."

"That's just the tip of the iceberg," Griswald explained, his mouth barely visible as it made a grim line. He listed off Ruby's injuries, "Stage 3 stomach cancer, about 5 doses above what you should've taken in painkillers, third-degree burns on your front, extreme blood loss, and your left arm completely burned off."

Ruby shrunk back further and further into the head of her bed. "That bad?" she squeaked.

"But, the amazing thing is your condition right now."

What about it?" Ruby squeaked.

"I just mentioned your arm was lost, right? Well…" Griswald nodded in Ruby's direction, eyes imploring.

Confused, Ruby scratched the back of her head… with her left arm. Realization dawned on her as she shakingly lowered her arm, staring at it like it was some sort of mystical creature. "But…" Ruby stammered, "But-."

"Then there's your Aura levels. Normally, reserves don't change unless a person specifically trains to enhance them. But for your case, the readings show you going all the way up to 112 percent Aura levels two days after the invasion."

"Wait," Ruby tried to break into Griswald's rant, "What did you-?"

"And your cancer. The doctors gave you a few days to live if I remembered your report correctly. And yet, not one doctor has found any trace of it in your body. How?" Griswald asked with a tilt of his head. Not unkindly, just extremely curious with a bit of confusion.

"I-," Ruby stammered out, "I don't know."

"And neither do I," Griswald exasperated, dragging one of his hands through the tangled mess that was his hair, "There are maybe twelve ways you could've died that night, three of which would've killed you in two hours. My problem is, how are you still alive?"

And with that information overload, Ruby did what any regular person would've done- she passed out. Cold. "Why did you do that?" Yang snapped at her mentor, fussing over Ruby, "She didn't need to know that."

"She has a right, you know," Griswald explained, "It's her body, and she should be told the whole story."

"Yeah," Yang agreed as her tone softened, "But not now. Not with Daniel-."

"We still have no idea what will happen to him," Griswald grunted, glancing at the curtains, "Frankly, I'm honestly afraid of what he's going to be like."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

It was the fourth time Ruby was awake for the past month, and her physical state still looked fine. In fact, the doctors explained to her, "You seem to be in the same state you were _before_ you were diagnosed with cancer." Well, except for the fact that she could barely lift a glass of water just for a drink. But other than that, completely healthy.

But of course, Ruby couldn't care less about her physical health at the moment as her eyes bore into the curtains in the corner of the room, cutting it off from the rest of the world. Her heart would not stop pounding as she started making every horrible assumption of what was behind them. Was it Daniel? Was it someone else? If it was Daniel, why was he hidden from her?

Even with her worries, Ruby wasn't able to focus on them because of the plethora of visitors that flooded her throughout the day. First came Yang and her team who suffocated her in a group hug. Then, an hour later came Jaune, Ren, and Nora while Jaune wheeled in a saddening sight. "Oh, Pyrrha," Ruby gasped, "What happened?"

Pyrrha brushed a small strand of her behind her ear, ducking her head down to avoid meeting Ruby's eyes. She was in a gown similar to Ruby's as Jaune pushed her wheelchair up to Ruby's side. "Cardin happened," Jaune growled, answering for Pyrrha, "A mace to the back fractured some of her hip and spine."

"Oh," Ruby cried out, leaning over and consuming Pyrrha in a much-needed hug that she tearfully reciprocated. "You'll get better though, right?" Ruby asked as she pulled away.

"I…" Pyrrha stammered, "I'm not sure."

"Of course you will," Jaune exclaimed, "You still haven't lost the feeling in your legs, so it's going to be fine."

"But," Pyrrha began again, her head bowed, "I'll just be a hindrance to you three now. I won't be able to be the Invincible Girl that you know."

"Then don't," Nora piped up, her eyes sad but her smile cheerful, "Be Pyrrha Nikos: Girl-That-Finally-Got-Jaune."

"Nora," Pyrrha exclaimed as she buried her face in her hands. But, her cheeks nonetheless heated up to match colors with her hair. "You weren't supposed to say anything!"

"Oops," Nora squeaked, "Sorry, I'm just so excited you're finally together-together!"

"Wait," Ruby interjected, "Backup. You what?"

Jaune set his jaw, but a smile still dawned on his smug-filled face. "Pyrrha here," Jaune started, resting his chin on Pyrrha's bowed head, "has officially taken my offer for a date."

Ruby squealed in delight as she tackled the couple in a hug, almost falling out of bed for her troubles. "Congratulations, you two!" she exclaimed, "And finally!"

"Finally?" Jaune asked with a perplexed look, "What do you mean by that?"

Ruby froze up before jumping back onto her bed, a blush starting to form on her cheeks. "Hehe," Ruby awkwardly giggled, "Nothing…"

"And now I know it's not 'nothing'," Jaune shot back as he raised an eyebrow, "Now spill."

For a few moments, Ruby remained silent. Then, she burst out, "You're just so clueless. Pyrrha was waiting for a date from you, but you just never noticed!"

"That's not true," Jaune protested, "Right guys?" He turned to the other two people in the room for support, only to find there was none there. "Guys?" he asked again while his voice kept rising octaves.

"Sorry, Jaune."

"You're clueless."

Jaune threw his hands into the air out of frustration before burying his head in the back of Pyrrha's neck. Meanwhile, everyone else laughed at his expense, including Pyrrha who tilted her head and gave Jaune a quick peck on the cheek, drawing a soft "Aww" from the two other girls. "I'm such a dunce," Jaune pestered himself.

In comfort, Pyrrha reached back and wrapped her arms around Jaune's neck. "At least you finally asked," she reassured, "Better late than never."

Finally, Jaune's ego was lifted a little higher as he pulled himself away from the back of Pyrrha's head to give her a proper kiss. "Life's short, anyway," he agreed.

Ruby stared at the scene in adoration before longing gripped her heart. Her smile flipped into a frown as she stared at her covers, tears threatening to flood her eyes. While Nora continued to tease the newest couple on the block, Ren spotted Ruby's solemn expression from the corner of his eye. "Ruby," he called out. The recovering girl took a bit too long for Ren's liking to look up, her eyes distant. "What's on your mind?"

Ruby pulled out the pillow from behind her and buried her face in it. "Ruby," Ren called again, this time with an even softer tone, "What's wrong?"

It took a couple of seconds before Ruby responded, "Daniel." When she peeked an eye above her pillow, she caught Ren staring back at her imploringly. "I don't know what's happened to him," Ruby explained in a heartbroken tone, "I think he's right behind that curtain, but no one will tell me."

Ren glanced over his shoulder at the blue curtains that cut off a good section of the room. "Those curtains?" he clarified, turning back around to see Ruby nod. "You're probably going to ask me to go check, aren't you?" Ren sighed as Ruby nodded yet again. "And no is not an answer?" A third nod made Ren sigh one last time before getting up. He strode over to the curtain, peeking through it to look at the occupant before scrambling back, flinching like he'd just been punched.

"Was it Daniel?" Ruby asked, sitting up rigidly.

Ren paused for a moment before responding, "It was…"

"Can I see him, then?" Ruby asked, desperation filling her voice. Ren shook his head as he sat back down, the others now listening in on their conversation. "Why not?" Ruby questioned, "I want to see him."

"No," Ren denied forcefully, "I will not let you."

"Why?" Ruby asked again.

"Because it's probably in your best interest not to."

That sent Ruby over the line. "Get out," she told them in a whisper. When they only looked confused, Ruby tried to shove Ren off her bed with frail arms. "Get out," she demanded, louder, "You guys aren't any help!"

Team JNPR jumped back, stunned at her ferocity. "Ruby, calm down," Jaune tried to placate.

"Stop telling me to calm down," Ruby shouted at them, trying to push away Nora this time, "I just wanted to see, Daniel, but you won't let me. I just want to know what happened to him!"

Jaune's gaze drifted towards the curtains near the back. "You mean-," he began.

"No," Ren commanded, "Do not let Ruby see what's behind them, under any circumstances."

"Please," Ruby begged Jaune with watery eyes. When even the blonde shook his head, she started shoving them away again. "Then get out! You guys can't help me! Out!"

The machines next to her were flaring up as Ruby's heart started beating faster and faster, but they still weren't able to drown out the roar in her ears as she shoved away her friends towards the exit. Meanwhile, a couple of doctors rushed in the room, two of them heading straight for Ruby as they wrestled her back down onto the bed. Ruby thrashed in their grasp, but she was already weak from staying up for so long without rest, eventually being brought down. As soon as their hands let go of her, though, Ruby tried to rise again before a voice from the door rang out, "You wanted to know about Daniel?"

Ruby turned her head towards the voice so quickly there was almost an audible crack from the whiplash she received. There, in the doorway, was a surprise (although she should've expected it, given the subject). Griswald strolled in as Dr. Treuse protested that he should stay outside. "It's alright," he assured, "I'm here on Ozpin's word."

"That makes everything better," Dr. Treuse sassed as she rolled her eyes. But still, she turned back to the machines near Ruby to tinker with a few of their controls.

"I'm also an expert in Aura and Semblances," Griswald yelled at the green-haired doctor, annoyed. "People these days," he grumbled before turning to Ruby. "So you wanted to know about Daniel?"

"You don't say," Ruby sassed, sitting back up with her back pressed up against the back of the bed.

"Ahem," Dr. Treuse interrupted with a clear of her throat, "You can't just go around giving away information about our patients."

"Ah, but this is a special case," Griswald clipped with a smug grin, "I believe Miss Rose would like to know about her savior's and teammate's condition, no?" All he got in return was a few choice words mumbled under Dr. Treuse's breath as she turned back to check on Ruby's vitals. "Anyway," Griswald brushed aside, "where was I?"

"Telling me about Daniel's condition?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"I wish I could," Griswald claimed. He held up a finger when Ruby was opening her mouth to explode again. "Let me finish. I wish I could tell you what exactly happened to him; the truth is, I don't know. No one does. I've been studying what Daniel's Semblance does for the past months, and I still don't have a good grasp of what he did!"

"Wait," Ruby interrupted with a sudden revelation, "He used his Semblance on me?"

"Where do you think you got your extra twelve percent of Aura?" Griswald answered, "Somehow, he put a part of his into you to keep you alive."

"That idiot," Ruby exclaimed, though tears threatened to spill out despite her angry demeanor.

"You have no idea," Griswald agreed, moving towards the curtains.

Dr. Treuse turned around just in time to see Griswald grab ahold of the fabric. "Don't," she shouted with panicked eyes.

Too late. Griswald threw open the divider to show a sight that choked up Ruby, her tears finally coming out. Behind it was Daniel, laying in a regular hospital bed as dozens of drips and needles lined his arms. The skin on the left side of his face, as low as his eye, was burned and boiled, like if it had rotten for a week but kept its original skin tone. A tube went into his nostrils to help him breathe while another one went under the blanket and into his side, doing something Ruby could only dimly imagine. "Oh god," Ruby choked out, finally letting her tears flow out as she sobbed into her covers.

"Depleted Aura," Griswald started to list, "multiple scrapes and scratches, one bullet or arrow wound that went through his side, third-degree burns on his hands and second-degree ones on his back and face, a lost kidney, a lost left leg, and a third of his kidney gone." Ruby's sobs intensified. "And yet," Griswald went on, "he's still somehow alive."

"Still?" Ruby cried, "There's more?"

"Daniel used his Semblance to perform most of this. He gave you everything so you could survive. But he used his own body to provide the materials. He rewrote a portion of his DNA code and rewrote a bit of yours to cure you." Ruby's sobs intensified. "And he used his Semblance to do all this. The feat in itself… it's remarkable!"

"How is it remarkable?" Ruby cried out.

"Think of how precise it must be!" Griswald exclaimed, "Splicing something that small and precise- I wouldn't have been surprised if he passed on as soon as it happened!"

Ruby choked back a sniffle as she brushed tears away from her eyes. "So what you're saying-?" she started.

"He's living a miracle," Griswald agreed, "Just this is a miracle for him." This brought, even more, tears to Ruby's eyes- just the thought of this… state as a miracle was just more than she could bear. "This big of a gift for you, Ruby, should've cost his own life. But his vital signs are all normal. How?" Griswald put a hand to his chin, stroking the small stubs of hair in thought. "How indeed…"

- **xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

The miracle didn't stop there, as Daniel's eyes finally fluttered open. When his mind returned to the real world, however, Daniel wished he could've gone back unconscious because of the pain he had to wake up to. His face felt like someone had taken a hot iron and pressed it against him. Added to the fact that his muscles felt like they'd been ground and an elephant was seemingly crushing his chest, there was only one word Daniel could say in that moment. "Ow," Daniel groaned. He would've tried to rub the tiredness off his face, but he could barely move his arms before another invisible needle stabbed his nerves.

"You're awake!" a voice yelped from Daniel's side. Turning his head to the side and ignoring about a dozen screaming muscles, Daniel found himself staring at a fairly young nurse, startled from his awakening. "You- you're awake!"

Daniel smiled at the young blonde before croaking out, "Water?" Snapping out of her mindset, the nurse rushed to the nearby sink with a glass in hand. When she was coming back, Daniel somehow managed to prop himself up against the back of the bed, wincing every time he turned the wrong way. Before he knew it, the brim of a glass was being pressed against his lips. Mumbling out a "thanks", Daniel took a much-needed sip of water while the nurse checked the monitors alongside his bed again with a befuddled expression.

The nurse took away the glass from Daniel, placing it on a small nightstand near his bed alongside a vase full of various flowers. "A few of your friends got those for you," the nurse blurted out, noticing Daniel staring at the bundle of flowers, "Especially this one girl with silver eyes. She wanted me to give you a peach once. Don't know if it was a joke or not."

Daniel tried to chuckle, but it ended up coming out more as a raspy breath. "Tell them thanks," he replied.

"You can tell them yourself if you want to," the nurse offered, "I could always send them up."

"I'd like that," Daniel agreed. When all the nurse did was nod as she continued to tap a few things on her tablet Scroll, Daniel added, "Could you bring them now, please?"

For a moment, the girl stared blankly at Daniel before realization dawned on her face. "Oh, sorry," she apologized with a small rosy tint to her cheeks, "I'll get them." As those words came out of her mouth, the nurse was already pushing her way past the hanging curtains back to… the rest of the hospital, Daniel assumed.

For a few silent minutes, Daniel laid in his bed, blissfully resting his eyes as his brain finally caught up with the situation. "They're going to kill me," Daniel chuckled, thinking about his teammates. He could just imagine Weiss berating him about his stupidity as Yang would lightly punch him because of his stunt. And most of that was going to come true. A few moments later, Daniel heard the sound of three pairs of feet clomping against the floor, almost shaking him out of his bed. "Here we go," he muttered before the curtains were thrown open.

Three sets of voices screamed out "Daniel," right before their bodies slammed into him. Dark spots danced around Daniel's vision while he fought for air while it was being squeezed out of him by a ferocious group hug. His breathing finally eased when the three girls finally let go of Daniel long enough to get a few words in. "Hey, guys," he croaked out, "Nice to know you care enough to almost crush my lungs again."

"You idiot," Weiss exploded, "Do you have any idea how worried we were? You're a complete buffoon for even _trying_ that… that… stunt that almost killed you. You ignored the fact that it could've almost _killed_ you, and your own advice to try and preform a stunt that shouldn't have worked. What were you _thinking_?!"

Daniel just chuckled at Weiss's reaction. "Finally got that off your chest?" he asked.

With that, Weiss tackled his side with another hug. "Yes," she admitted in a meek voice, drawing a laugh from everyone present.

Next, he turned to Yang. "No punch?" he inquired, "I'm surprised."

"I'd rather not knock you out just yet," Yang jested, but a sort of gloomy undertone still lined her voice. "I mean, this is your first time waking up, Daniel."

"Who's Daniel?" Daniel asked, confusion dawning his face, "I'm Farayan Shen."

Yang glared at him before finally slugging his arm. "You deserve it now," she claimed with a dark look.

Daniel shut his eyes as he winced, his arm stinging from where Yang hit him. "Yeah, sorry," he apologized, "Horrible joke at a horrible time."

"Damn right," Yang agreed before sitting down at the foot of his bed, the tense energy leaving her from when she waited for an entire month for Daniel. "Glad that you're back," Yang said with a smile, "Ruby's also going to be happy you're finally awake."

Distracted, Daniel gently tried to nudge Weiss off his side before turning back to Yang. "What?" he asked.

"Ruby," Yang repeated, "The doctors are doing some tests to her when they told us about you waking up, so she should be showing up soon."

Before Daniel could ask any more questions, the curtains opened yet again, the metal rings grinding against the track as it was flung aside by a silver-eyed girl. "Where is he?" she demanded.

Weiss finally peeled herself away from Daniel's side, allowing Daniel to lock eyes with the girl. "Daniel," she breathed, tears brimming in her eyes while the other three girls watched with almost wistful expressions, "You're awake."

"Hey," Daniel greeted back, smiling politely. A few seconds went by, neither of them saying a word before Daniel turned back to Yang. "So who's your friend?" he inquired.

The girls' hearts stopped for just a few moments before Yang turned to glare at Daniel. "The joke's still not funny," she chided.

Daniel's brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?" he asked, "It's not a joke." Yang's glare morphed into a look of horror once she realized his confusion wasn't a fake. "Seriously, do I know her from somewhere?"

The girl Daniel was staring at choked back a sob as her hands covered her mouth, tears brimming while she took a step away from Daniel's bed. "Daniel," Blake started softly, "do you really forget about Ruby?"

"So that's her name," Daniel thought out loud, turning back to the silver eyes. " _Ruby,_ " he corrected himself. He tried another polite smile, trying not to wince as his head started to throb. "Nice to meet you."

"You don't," Ruby choked out before a sniffle racked her body, "You don't remember me?"

Daniel sucked air through his teeth, trying his best to remember. "Sorry," he apologized, "Ruby, right?"

"Daniel please-," Ruby begged, dashing over to grab his arm to shake some sense into him.

That's when it happened. When Ruby touched him, Daniel jolted back like he had stuck a finger in an electrical socket, screaming as he kicked and shoved and scrambled onto the other side of the bed, getting as far away from Ruby as possible. Images flashed past him- all of them unrecognizably familiar. Some of them were events he thought were dreams, while others simply lacked a detail- a face that shouldn't be misplaced, an effect without a cause. "What did you do to me?" Daniel exclaimed, huffing as he looked wearily at a distraught Ruby. The machines next to him were going off, drowning out Daniel's deep breaths with alarms as it tried to measure his ever-growing heartrate. "What did you do?" Daniel shouted again.

Ruby's chest was heaving with effort as she tried not to cry out. She lost the battle, though, as she ran out the door, her cries ringing over the machines going off. She shouldered and pushed her way through the couple of doctors that were rushing around in the halls, drawing out a few choice words from the ones she ran into. Daniel stared at the doorway, concern replacing the revulsion on his face. "What just happened?" Daniel asked his friends.

"Daniel," Weiss gaped, "You _really_ don't know Ruby?"

"No," Daniel exclaimed, starting to get frustrated from the constant questioning, "I thought it was clear- I don't know her!"

"But you have to," Yang pled. Daniel turned his head, peering at her. "She was the one that saved you! You gave your leg for her, for Pete's sake!"

"I gave my what?" Daniel interrupted, astonished. He tried to kick off the covers, only for him to discover he only had half of what he should've been able to kick with. "What the?" he exclaimed, eyes popping out of his head, "When did I…?"

"Please," Yang begged while she grabbed Daniel by the shoulders, "You have to remember Ruby. You have to."

"But I don't," Daniel growled in frustration, "You think I'd remember someone I'd give up a leg for, but I don't."

"Yang," Weiss started, her voice merely a whisper, "Remember what Griswald said? How it was impossible for Daniel to save her without a cost?" Blake and Yang stared at her, realization dawning on their faces. "I think," Weiss gulped, "this is the trade off."

"What trade off?" Daniel asked, his gaze flickering between the three girls, "What are you talking about?"

"Do we tell him?" Blake asked.

"Tell me what?"

"I- yes!" Yang exclaimed, "Why shouldn't we?"

"Shouldn't you what?"

"But are we sure we should overwhelm him?" Weiss asked, "It could make it worse…"

"Can someone tell me," Daniel exploded, "what is going on?!"

The three girls exchanged a look before sighing. "Ruby," Yang started hesitantly, "she's my sister. You took over her spot when she got cancer-."

"She had cancer?" Daniel interrupted. Noticing Yang's glare, he cowered back a little. "Sorry. Go on."

Yang's wistful expression reappeared as she went on, "You and Ruby were… inseparable. She was basically the light of the group, and the five of us would do everything together." She stared into Daniel's eyes intensely, "Did you really forget _everything_ about her? Her birthday, you two saving each other, her showing you the cherry tree-?"

"She was the one that knew about the cherry tree?" Daniel interrupted.

"Yes, it was her favorite spot!" Yang buried her face in her hands. "Oh, you actually forgot her."

Daniel stared at Yang with an open mouth. "Was she… really that important?" he asked.

"Yes," the three girls shouted.

Daniel sank back into the covers. "You'd think I'd remember someone that important," he mumbled to himself, closing his eyes.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Eventually, after some intense questioning by not only the doctors but also by Ozpin and Griswald, Daniel was finally able to leave the hospital a week later. As Daniel was pushed out the doors in his wheelchair, he squinted against the sky-high sun at noon. "Welcome back to the world," Coco announced with a smile, pushing Daniel down a small ramp, "You'll notice the crater Velvet made in the ground."

"It was an accident," Velvet whined, stepping around a decimated flowerbed, "I got jumpy when we were supposed to defend the hospital."

"And what did you do?" Coco inquired with a smirk.

"I shot a leaf," Velvet mumbled under her breath.

Daniel laughed as Coco's case was settled. "Well, at least you guys are here, right? I mean, what were the odds your entire team is still here?"

"Actually, sorta high," Velvet answered. Noticing Daniel's confused expression, she went on, "The attack wasn't as bad as it looks. Most of the big businesses were destroyed and some of the warehouses, but a lot of stuff is still intact."

"Really?" Daniel wondered, looking at the dozens of buildings in sight. Velvet was right- most of the damaged buildings were either shops and that sort. The houses in on the other side of the block looked barely scathed besides a few blackened tiles here and there from stray bullets or an occasional collapsed wall from a Nevermore landing on it.

"They talked to a bunch of the White Fang," Coco explained, "Looks like they wanted to take down all the businesses and replace them once they were done with the attack. But they still needed a place to live, so houses were left alone."

"That's…" Daniel started, trying to put his thoughts into words, "weird."

"That's an understatement," Coco huffed. Before she could go on, Coco caught sight of a certain girl walking away from the hospital. "Hey, Little Red," she called out, waving at the girl.

The girl in question turned around and flashed Coco a quick smile along with a quick wave. Then, she and Daniel had to lock eyes. It was the same girl again- Ruby, if Daniel remembered correctly. This time, she had a sort of tomboyish haircut that was barely long enough to cover her ears. When Ruby's gaze landed on Daniel, though, her hand was slowly lowered as her smile transformed into a trembling frown. Without a word, she dashed down the street, not even taking a glance back at them.

Frowning, Coco lowered her hand as she continued to push Daniel back to the airships. "What's wrong with Ruby?" she wondered aloud.

"Probably me," Daniel answered, "According to everyone, I should know her."

This stopped the two girls in their tracks. "Repeat that again?" Coco asked, peering over her sunglasses with a questioning gaze.

"I can't remember her," Daniel admitted, "I mean, I know she's Yang's sister because Yang told me, but-."

"Hold on," Velvet interrupted, "You mean you don't remember anything at all." She fumbled around in her pockets before taking out a photo. "Not even this?" Velvet asked, handing Daniel the photo.

Still confused, Daniel took the picture and studied it. It was with him and Ruby, sitting at one of the tables in Annabeth's Diner. In it, Ruby's hair was definitely longer, draping over her eyes slightly, while Daniel still had to scrunch up his wings to be able to fit into the small booth. What was a bit weirder was the amount of red on both of their faces, the kind Ruby was trying to hide behind a red hood. "You still kept that?" Coco asked her partner, her mouth quirking into a lop-sided smirk as she peered over Daniel's shoulder.

"Never got a chance to give it to you guys," Velvet answered, "But you really don't remember this?"

"Nope," Daniel denied with a sigh, handing it back to a disappointed Velvet, "Seriously, how important was she to me?"

"The picture was when you asked her to be your girlfriend!" Coco exclaimed, "How important do you think that makes her to you?"

"No," Velvet corrected, "That was later. On her birthday."

Coco tilted her head up in thought, trying to think back to the events. "Oh yeah," she remembered, "The photo was when Yang and the others were stalking Ruby and Daniel."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Daniel exclaimed, shouting in his cupped hands, "You're saying she's my girlfriend?"

"Yep," Coco assured, "Come on, you and she did everything together!"

"That explains the massive memory gap," Daniel conceded, "It's like the five months of my life are gone or have giant holes in them."

"See?" Coco exclaimed triumphantly, "Inseparable."

Off to the side, Velvet stared intently at Daniel, watching as he struggled to remember even the most basic details about Ruby. "You're going to have to talk to her," she announced.

From Velvet's voice, Daniel jerked his head towards the faunus. "What?" he started, "How am I going to talk to her? When I tried the first time, she sprinted off crying."

"Poor girl," Velvet mumbled under her breath, "She's probably heartbroken, loving you while you can't even tell me her birthday." In a louder voice, she spoke to Daniel, "That's going to be a problem. Where would we even start?"

"How'd you lose your memories, Daniel?" Coco asked, "Was it getting knocked unconscious or…?"

With the question hanging in the air, Daniel tried to think back to the invasion. "I remember fighting at Beacon," Daniel recalled, "And the fire. Other than that, I can't remember." Coco and Velvet were almost ready to lose hope before Daniel straightened in his seat. "Yang could probably tell us," he exclaimed, "I was fighting with my team."

"There's a start," Velvet agreed.

"Just a question," Daniel interrupted, "Why is everyone so intent on getting Ruby and I back together?"

Abruptly, Coco and Velvet stopped. The two girls exchanged a glance behind Daniel's back before Velvet answered, "If we didn't, it would be a waste of a pair of perfect soulmates." They didn't say another word until they got to the airfields, leaving Daniel wondering how much he forgot.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

About an hour later, Daniel found himself being wheeled up to his team's room, shooting Coco a small look. "Are we really-?" he started to ask.

"You want to remember or not?" Coco interrupted. That shut Daniel up rather quickly. Before he could realize they were in front of RWBY's dorm, Coco was already leaning over Daniel to knock on the door. A haggard Yang answered the door, a few bags under her eyes as if she'd stayed up all night. "Hey, Yang," Coco greeted, "Daniel here would like to remember what happened to him. Okay? Bye."

Daniel whipped his head around, watching a retreating Coco and Velvet wave at him at the stairs. "Really?" he shouted down the hallway. Then, he turned back to Yang who was growing more and more annoyed. Daniel chuckled despite himself, "Hey, Yang. Can I ask you a few questions?"

"About?" Yang inquired.

Daniel clicked his tongue, twiddling his thumbs as he tried to phrase his next words. "What happened to me?" he finally asked, "I mean, what happened during the invasion?"

In an instant, Yang's eyes hollowed just a bit as she seemingly grew ten years older, her shoulders slackening from an invisible weight. "You really want to know?" she asked.

"Would everyone stop beating around the bush and tell me," Daniel exploded as he gripped the arms of his wheelchair. His knuckles turned white with effort while his teeth set with frustration.

Yang flinched back like she'd been hit, making Daniel immediately try and back off his statement. Before he could get the words in, though, Yang started, "You'd better come in then." The door opened completely as Yang turned around and walked further into the room. "I have something to show you."

Still not entirely certain what he was getting himself into, Daniel pushed himself forward into the room. Inside, the room was mainly well kept- the beds made (except Yang's), desks put up nicely, and everything was in decent shape. Probably because of Weiss, but there was still one bed that looked like it hadn't been cleaned for months. The covers were overturned, the pillows ruffled, and a few books littered the sides of the mattress. "That one's Ruby's," Yang called out when she spotted where Daniel was looking, "Needless to say, she's pretty upset."

Daniel wrenched his gaze away from the bed. "Where are the others?" he asked as he realized the room was empty besides Yang and himself.

"Out," Yang answered as she dug through one of the bookcases, "Weiss and Blake are trying to help with rebuilding."

"And what are you doing?"

"I'm Ruby's sister," Yang replied, pulling out a small binder from the shelves, "I've gotta take care of her, don't I?"

At that name, Daniel went back to contemplating as Yang sat on the bed closest to him. "Were we…," Daniel started, "Was she my girlfriend?"

"Yep," Yang answered, allowing a sad smile to grace her lips, "You two were so easy to tease. Well, Ruby was. You eventually got used to it."

Daniel smiled emptily as Yang flipped through a couple of pages. "How'd we meet?" he asked.

"Weren't you here for how you lost your memories?" Yang questioned while she handed Daniel the binder. When all she received was a questioning look from Daniel, Yang motioned toward the scrapbook. "Flip through that. You'll understand why we all say you and Ruby were inseparable."

As Daniel stared at the dozens of pictures, each one interesting and confusing him even more than the last, Yang tried her best to recall what happened. "How much of that night do you remember?" she first asked.

"Last thing I remember was Cinder and a wave of fire."

"Right," Yang began with a sigh, "The Queen, or Cinder, got you to your knees before she tried to kill you." The next part, she couldn't go on without a small hiccup as tears pricked her eyes. "Ruby saved you. She tried to shield you from the fire but got shot from the person I was helping Blake fight. Ruby lost her arm, and she should've lost her life."

"Wait, her arm?" Daniel interrupted with confusion clearly written on his face, "But I when I saw her-."

"She did," Yang went on, her throat closing up from anguish, "We won in the end, but Ruby was-." Again, a sob wracked her body before she could go on, "She was about to die. She finally got to be the hero and wanted to die that way, protecting you and saving Vale. But you didn't let her. You did something with a weird Dust crystal before using your Semblance to heal her."

"Which crystal was it?" Daniel inquired, "Can you describe it?"

"How would I know?" Yang cried out, almost in hysterics. Daniel quickly wheeled himself forward, pulling Yang into a comforting hug. "It was spotted. That's all I remember."

Yang could feel Daniel stiffen against her. "Wait, spotted?" Daniel repeated, "Was it a yellowish sort of color with black spots?"

"Yeah," Yang sniffled. She pulled away slightly to look at Daniel, her brows furrowed. "Why?"

Instead of an answer, Daniel groaned as he released his hold on Yang. He held his head in his hands and mumbled, "I did it, didn't I?"

Confused, Yang pulled away and sat back on the bed. "What?" she asked.

"Something I promised would've been the last resort," Daniel answered.

Right as Yang was going to fire off another question, the door opened again as a girl walked in. "Sorry I took so long," she called out, "The shower's all yours… Yang…"

Daniel turned his chair around, his heart pounding faster and faster. There, behind him, was Ruby with a towel covering her head. She was in a black tank-top with white, rose-printed sweatpants. The two of them stared at each other, unmoving, for an eternity. "Wha-," Ruby stuttered, "What's he doing here? Yang?"

At her name, Yang stood up and quickly made her way for the door. "Thanks for the heads-up," Yang told her sister, giving her a quick pat on the shoulder. She made her way past Ruby and to the door, peeking around it as she closed it behind her. "I'll just let you two stay here."

"Yang," Ruby called, her voice growing an octave. It was a bit too late, though, as Yang had already closed the door. "Yang?" Ruby repeated, her breathing becoming a bit panicked. When it was clear Yang wouldn't be coming around for a while, Ruby turned around and faced her dream-turned-nightmare. "Hey, Daniel," she greeted softly.

"Hey, Ruby," Daniel replied with a forced smile. It was a while before either of them spoke again. "So," Daniel started, "We were… together?"

"Yeah," Ruby answered in a soft voice. "Well, together-together," she rambled, "Not just like friends. But if you want to now, it would be-."

"Ruby," Daniel interjected, reaching out for her hand. As their finger touched, however, Daniel jerked back as another painful image flashed before him. He bit his lip to muffle a scream and covered his head with his hands, rocking back and forth in his seat.

"Daniel," Ruby exclaimed, rushing over to pull him into a quick embrace. As her arms wrapped around him, Daniel let out a scream and jerked away, falling out of his chair with his head still clutched between his arms. Ruby had to fight her want to try and comfort Daniel as he started mumbling under his breath, too low for her to hear properly.

Eventually, Daniel let go of his head, his chest rising and falling with effort. "I thought that would've been a one-time thing," he panted, "Sorry, Ruby." When he saw Ruby's bottom lip tremble, Daniel tried to comfort her. "Hey, I'm fine. Let's just… start over, right?"

This had the entirely opposite effect. Ruby started to tear up before it turned into a hard sob, dropping to her knees next to Daniel. "I don't want to start over, though," she cried, "I don't want to have to keep you away from me. I don't want to hurt you."

"Ruby," Daniel breathed, reaching out to try and grab Ruby's shoulder before he thought better of it. Noticing his hesitation, Ruby's cries intensified as she blindly stumbled to her feet, fumbling for the door handle. "Ruby, wait!" Daniel shouted after her. Too late, as the door was flung open with Ruby running out. As the door started to close, though, a hand pushed it back open. Yang walked back into her dorm, a sober look on her face. With a sigh, Daniel pounded a fist against the ground half-heartedly. "There goes that…" he drawled.

Yang nodded and crouched down, helping Daniel back into his wheelchair. "I thought it would've gone better," she conceded.

"I don't understand," Daniel exclaimed, "What did I do wrong? I just wanted to try and-."

A sigh from Yang interrupted Daniel's explanation. "Ruby wasn't never that type of girl to just move on. She really likes her memories, especially ones about her friends." Another sigh came out of Yang as she leaned against the leg of her bed. "Also, I don't think Ruby likes the fact that she can't hug you anymore."

Daniel now looked confused. "What? Why would that-?"

"Girlfriend-boyfriend, remember?" Yang reminded, "Like I said: inseparable." Daniel said nothing in turn and instead pulled out his Scroll. "What are you doing?" Yang asked.

Without looking up, Daniel answered, "Getting my memories back."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Three days.

It was three days later that Daniel still found no progress on what he did to Ruby. Rather, what he did to himself. "I used the Aura crystal," Daniel mumbled to himself as he tapped away at his Scroll, "I used my Semblance, and then nothing. What the hell happened to me?"

Currently, Daniel was sitting in his room, leaning over his desk with a waste basket full of discarded notes next to him. Scrolling through a few files ( **AN: How did I manage to find a pun here** ), he eventually came across a small folder tucked away in the corner of his screen. Inside was an another one, titled: " _Last case scenario_ ". Daniel let out a tired huff as he clicked on it, desperate for answers. Inside was a file- a video, to be exact. And in that was Daniel's answers. As he watched, realization dawned on his face as the dots finally connected, realization turning into hope and horror at the same time. "Where's Ruby?" he asked himself, turning his wheelchair and pushing himself out the door.

* * *

Down two floors, Daniel was wheeling his way towards Ruby's room when she just closed the door behind her. "Ruby," he called out, picking up his pace. The girl in question looked up, startled, before noticing who called her name. Wordlessly, she turned around and tried to bolt for the stairs. "Ruby, wait," Daniel yelled. When she didn't stop, he yelled again, "Rubes, wait!"

At that name, Ruby stopped and turned around, letting Daniel wheel up toward her. "Where'd you get that nickname?" she asked.

Daniel was huffing by that point; pushing a wheelchair wasn't exactly easier than running after someone. "From myself," he answered, staring into her eyes with his own bloodshot and dried ones like he'd been staring at a screen for the past three days. Which he had.

Ruby shook her head as she turned away from him. "I don't believe it," she denied, moving for the exit again. Before she could, though, Daniel grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her back. "What are you-?" she started, but Daniel's lips capturing hers put a stop on whatever she was trying to say. It was for an instant because as quickly as it happened, Daniel jolted back like he'd been electrocuted, holding his head as painful memories swarmed his brain. "Did you just-?" Ruby managed out, "Did you just… _kiss_ me?"

"Yep," Daniel managed out, his teeth still gritted from the pain.

"But…" Ruby went on, "Why?"

Despite the pain, Daniel tried on a smile which came out more as a grimace. "Seems like something you would remember, right?" he joked. Noting Ruby's unchanged expression, Daniel sighed. "I needed your attention."

"For?"

"I think I know what I did."

Ruby finally calmed down enough to listen to what Daniel was saying. He dug out his Scroll from his pocket and handed to Ruby. "I started making video logs and stuff about my Semblance," Daniel explained.

"I know," Ruby interrupted, "You told me about them."

Daniel's smile strained as he tried to share the memory but couldn't. "Anyway," he continued, "I came across one of them that explains everything." He nodded at the item in Ruby's hands. Confused, but hopeful, Ruby clicked on the video onscreen and watched.

* * *

 _On the screen, Daniel was backing away to sit back at his desk. "Hopefully it's on," the virtual Daniel spoke to himself, "There's the red light, and that means we're good." He clapped his hands together, a grim expression starting to form on his face. "Welcome to Semblance Log Number 120. If you're someone besides my friends and me, stop watching. If you are," Daniel chuckled to himself, "Well, it means I've either screwed up or- no, scratch that. It means I've definitely screwed up._

 _"Okay, so Griswald has been trying to help me with my Semblance." Daniel laughed, "Well, as much as he can. Don't get me wrong; he's a great help but-." The Daniel on screen sighed as he rubbed his face, "Nevermind. Anyway, he's been trying to understand the limits of my Semblance while I'm trying to figure out how much I can actually do with it. So we're doing two things at once: he's testing power, I'm testing versatility. And I realized," he grabbed a small wooden block, no bigger than an apple, "I can animate stuff."_

 _Daniel activated his Semblance, from the blue light that filled the screen. When it died down, the block of wood now had a finger-like plank of wood growing out of it, going up and down, tapping the desk rhythmically. "Granted," he continued, out of breath, "It takes a lot out of me, but I can still animate stuff."_

 _He stared at the almost worthless yet impressive device next to him. "But," Daniel noted, "It's not as good as I really hope." As the words came out of his mouth, the finger tapping stopped as it shrunk back into the block of wood. "Like that," Daniel agreed, "If I don't pour a lot of effort into it, I'll get nothing out of it._

 _"That's where this log comes in. If, say, I pour half my Aura into something, theoretically, I could put half of me inside something else. Half of a soul is nothing to go off, but if I put it in someone else that already has a soul…" Daniel let that thought hang in the air, "And that's why this is my last-case scenario. If I do this, I'd probably die since I can't have half a soul. But, I could possibly save someone else who needs it." He looked directly at the camera, eyes intense. "Or someone I love."_

 _Daniel slumped back in his chair, trying to prep himself for what he had to say next. "If Team RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, or Ozpin finds this, it's already happened. I couldn't find a way to reverse this, and frankly, I don't want to try it. But if I've saved someone, I can consider this a success."_

 _He looked at the screen again. "And if I saved someone, I'm pretty sure who that person is: Ruby. Ruby, if you're watching this, I'm sorry. You were the best thing that did happen and could happen to me. You have a bigger impact on life than I do; more people adore you, everyone loves you, and you've got a family to look forward to. Me? I have you, our team, and about five other people that care about me. So, I did the math, and it looks like you're more important than I ever was." Daniel tried a smile. "Live for me, will 'ya?"_

* * *

By the end of the log, Ruby was in tears again, bawling her eyes out as she blindly handed back the Scroll to Daniel. "Sorry," he apologized, taking the Scroll from her, "I thought you wanted to hear him- me- speak. Sorry if I upset you."

Ruby wiped away her tears with another sniffle. "It's fine," she mumbled, "You weren't the one that upset me." As Daniel opened his mouth, she added quietly, "Well, not 'current you'."

Daniel remained silent as Ruby tried to compose herself before dropping his next statement. "I think I can fix this," he claimed, his voice hesitant.

Ruby jerked her head up, shock written on her face. "But," she stuttered, "I-I thought you said-."

"Forget what past me said," Daniel shouted as his knuckles turned white against the arms of his chair. Ruby jumped back a foot while Daniel sighed, letting his shoulders relax. "Sorry," Daniel apologized yet again, "I just… I know what to do now."

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Do you know any expert on Aura?" Daniel asked as he turned himself around. "I need a second opinion. And some help."

"Daniel Collin Gotzon," Ruby shouted, "Tell me what you're doing!"

Daniel halted before turning his chair around slowly. "How do you know my middle name?" he asked, "Did I tell you it?"

"Nope," Ruby denied, finally a smile on her face because of Daniel's help, "You'll never know how."

Amused, Daniel rolled his eyes while he explained, "I, Past Me, said that I put some Aura into something to make it come to life. Well, what if it was the opposite? What if someone that lived because of me put my Aura back into me?"

"Like what you did in reverse," Ruby breathed, catching on, "That's what you're doing?"

"Yeah," Daniel agreed, "So, do you know anyone that knows how to do that?" Daniel continued to look at Ruby who was staring at her shoes, scuffing her heel against the floor. "Ruby?" Daniel asked, concerned.

She didn't speak for another few moments. "Why are you doing this?" she asked in a whisper.

"Hmm?" Daniel hummed questioningly.

"Why are you so… committed," Ruby drawled, "Why do you want to try and get your memories back? Aren't you fine," Ruby choked back a sniffle, "without me?"

With a heavy sigh, Daniel rubbed a hand on his face. When he took it away, the lines on his face made him grow five years older. "I really hate this," he admitted, "I hate the fact I can hurt someone just by existing. And it's even worse; apparently, that person I'm hurting used to be my girlfriend."

"Daniel-," Ruby tried to calm.

"As well as I can't even remember what we did, but the old Daniel seemed happy as long as you're around." Daniel's rant ended with a solemn expression as he buried his face in his hands. "I feel empty," he conceded, "Literally like my soul's been cut into two. And I want to get it back."

Ruby balled her fists as her stare turned into a glare at Daniel. Without warning, she gripped the back of his wheelchair and spun him around as he yelped in surprise. "We're seeing Ren," she claimed.

"What?" Daniel exclaimed.

"Do you want your memories back or not?" Ruby snapped as she continued to push.

Surprisingly, Daniel just laughed which added to Ruby's confusion. "I can start to see why I dated you," he mused, finally making Ruby laugh again.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

As that occurred outside, Jaune was finally helping Pyrrha out of her own wheelchair and onto her bed. "There you go," Jaune said a bit strained as he set Pyrrha down. Pyrrha laid there in her nightgown, miserable. "You want anything?" Jaune asked.

She didn't say anything while she continued to stare at the ceiling fan. "Pyrrha?" Jaune repeated, starting to worry.

Finally, she spoke. "It's hopeless," she exasperated.

"Don't say that," Jaune comforted, taking a seat next to Pyrrha. He laid a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "You'll get better. I promise."

"Better than what?" Pyrrha exclaimed, "I won't be able to do what I was able to do before. It will be difficult to do even the most basic things for the next… however long it takes, and I…" She took an angry breath, "I hate being weak." Pyrrha thumped her head against her pillow forcefully. "I never thought I'd miss being called the Invincible Girl," she wondered aloud.

Jaune brushed a hair behind her ear as he closed his eyes, sighing. "You'll get better," Jaune said, his tone making Pyrrha lose a bit of her doubt. Softer, he continued, "So what if you're not the Invincible Girl anymore. So what if it's going to take some time to get better. Don't you remember what happened to me? You helped me get better." He laughed at his own expense, "And believe me, I know how difficult that was from first-hand experience."

Pyrrha cracked a smile before it faded just as quickly. "I just don't want to be a burden," she admitted.

Now, Jaune gave her a genuine laugh. "I'm pretty sure you're not a bigger burden than me," Jaune disagreed, "Remember: you had to teach me how to fight." Then, with a cocky smirk Cardin would've been proud of, he jested "But, I probably can still beat you even once you've recovered."

"Excuse me?" Pyrrha asked, scandalized.

"I mean," Jaune chuckled with a shrug, "if you're that unsure of yourself…" This earned Jaune a rough punch to the arm, courtesy of Pyrrha Nikos. "Ow," Jaune yelped as he rubbed the sore spot, "See? Even now you'd probably kick my butt."

"I'll always kick your butt," Pyrrha laughed. The two sat there in silence for a little while. "Jaune," Pyrrha called out, a bit coy. When the blonde looked back at her, a rosy tint appeared on her cheeks. "Thanks," Pyrrha managed out.

Jaune shot back a smile as he planted a kiss on his partner's forehead. " _Girlfriend,_ " he had to remind himself, a bit too smug for him. "That's what friends are for, right?" Jaune replied. After a minute, Jaune slowly got to his feet with a small grunt. "Well," he started, "I guess I should go help Ren and Nora out now. Probably should… I don't know… see if they need any help on the reconstruction, right?" He tacked on a nervous laugh as he made his way towards the door.

But, on his second step, Pyrrha called out, "Jaune?" The blonde turned around, a questioning look on in his eyes. Pyrrha blushed as she asked, "Could you… stay with me?"

"Sure," Jaune replied nonchalantly, walking back over to Pyrrha's bed. "Just tell me if you need anything," he chirped while he sat on the edge of her mattress. A very shy but pointed look made Jaune stare at his girlfriend, eyebrows furrowed. Way too long, he finally got it. "Oh," Jaune breathed as his eyebrows shot into his hairline.

Pyrrha nodded with a small, uncharacteristic giggle as Jaune slid over, hesitantly wrapping an arm around Pyrrha's waist. Both of them were blushing like mad, but nonetheless, Pyrrha nuzzled into Jaune's neck, turning his light blush into a complete red-faced makeover. But, a higher power apparently wanted to make their luck even worse when a knocking came at the door, startling the couple. "Of all the times," Jaune cursed once he got over the shock. He, now disgruntled, marched over towards the door and threw it open, intending to glare at the interrupters. Instead, he found himself gaping at their visitors. "Daniel," he exclaimed, "Ruby. What are you guys doing here?" With a second thought, he had to ask, "Are you two-?"

"Not yet," Daniel interrupted with a slightly disappointed undertone, "Is Ren here? I have a few questions about Aura."

At that word, Pyrrha pushed herself up into a sitting position as she tried to peer over Jaune's shoulder. "I might be of some assistance,"

To make things easier, Jaune stepped aside as Ruby pushed Daniel into their room. "You know how Aura works?" Daniel asked.

"I know the basics."

"Help me, then," Daniel pled, "Tell me how to share Aura with someone."

Pyrrha tilted her head in wonder, looking up at a silent Ruby. "He wants his memories back," Ruby explained quietly.

Nodding in understanding, Pyrrha turned back to Daniel and started to explain. "I'm not exactly following 'sharing Aura', but I do know how to lend it. It's the same principle of unlocking a person's Aura."

Jaune blinked off to the side, interested. "How so, Pyrrha?" he asked.

"Think of Aura as pools of energy for a moment. Someone with untapped Aura has their pool inactivated. To release it, you must first give it life by putting something into it- in this case, someone else's activated Aura."

Daniel nodded in understanding. "So how do you do it?" he asked.

With a quick breath, Pyrrha replied, "You have to place a hand on the person's cheek, giving the Aura a direct link to-."

"Daniel, I can't do that," Ruby interrupted with wide eyes, "Every time that happens-."

"It'll work out in the end," Daniel claimed firmly, not giving Ruby any room for argument. "Pyrrha, what's the rest?"

Jolted back by Daniel's aggressiveness, Pyrrha went on, "W-Well," she stuttered, "after the Aura has a direct link, the person with the Aura has to imagine forcing their own soul through the link into the other person's inactive one. And then recite the lines-."

"Daniel, please," Ruby exclaimed, "I can't make you feel the pain again."

"And I don't want to see you cry again," Daniel countered, "Not unless it's out of happiness."

"But it's insane," Ruby shouted, ignoring Jaune's and Pyrrha's looks of astonishment, "I won't do it!" Tears welled her eyes while Daniel tried to hold back his own.

"Ruby," Daniel breathed, "I want to remember what I forgot. If it hurts, fine. It's better than feeling this empty all the time." Not taking his gaze away from his lap, Daniel called out, "Pyrrha." The redhead jolted again as she was knocked out of her trance. "Give Ruby the lines to recite."

Pyrrha was almost afraid of giving them now, but Jaune placed a hand on hers, giving her a look of grim confirmation. With a heavy sigh, Pyrrha recited, "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."

Daniel nodded, then turned to Ruby who was almost in tears. "Ruby, please," he begged.

"No," Ruby forced out, backing away from him, "No, I can't."

Daniel sighed as he let his head slump forward, almost as if he was defeated. But, he pled once more, "Ruby, I couldn't care less if it hurt me. It's the end result. It's the 'happy-ever-after' ending in the fairy tale. I saved you so you could live during the invasion, and by the sound of my recordings, it seems like you saved me." He looked up at Ruby with a mournful gaze, "Save me again, then."

Ruby took a couple of shuddery breaths as she tried not to cry. After another one, she nodded. "Jaune," Ruby asked the now attentive blonde, "Whatever I try, don't let me let go of Daniel."

"Sorry, what?" Jaune exclaimed, his voice an octave higher than his usual.

"Don't let me let go of Daniel," Ruby repeated, staring at her trembling hands. She tore her gaze off them and at Daniel. "You sure?" she asked again.

Daniel tensed up, preparing himself for a torturous relief. "Do it," he commanded.

With another shuddery breath, Ruby placed a hand on Daniel's cheek before they both attempted to flinch away. Ruby was stopped by Jaune while Daniel muffled down a scream with his sleeve. She closed her eyes as she rushed out, concentrating with all her might, "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." Daniel slammed his eyes shut while a red glow formed over the pair, barely noticeable. "Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." The sleeve he was biting down on wasn't enough as he bit on his tongue as well. "Infinite in distance and unbound by death," Daniel dully felt a metallic taste in his mouth as his teeth clamped down too hard on his tongue, "I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."

As the last lines were uttered, Daniel finally screamed an ear-splitting scream as he tore himself away from Ruby's hands. The wheelchair couldn't keep up, being flung away while Daniel hit the ground with a thud, writhing in pain from an invisible source. "Daniel," Ruby screamed, dropping to her knees and laying a hand on Daniel's shoulder. A few seconds of spiritual torture went by when Daniel stopped abruptly, still as a statue. Worried, Ruby placed a hand against Daniel's chest before she really began to panic. "He's not breathing," she gasped along with Pyrrha.

Jaune tried to push Ruby away, going to place his hands on Daniel's chest to pump in some air. Before that happened, though, Daniel let out a ragged gasp, and then another, and another, until finally, after an eternity of horror, his breathing evened out. Fearing the worst, Jaune put a hand against Daniel's neck before sighing. "He's breathing again," he diffused. As the girls sighed in relief, Jaune opened one of his eyelids, trying to get the eye to respond. "He's out cold, though," Jaune told the two, "We should probably get him to a nurse or something."

Ruby shook her head in defeat. "All of them are out helping Vale out," she sighed, "And besides, we can't carry him all the way over there." Ruby looked up, allowing tears to flow for the second time today. "I just want Daniel back," she cried as Pyrrha pulled her in, awkwardly patting her on the back for comfort.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Ruby finally got one of her wishes. An hour later, when Daniel finally awoke. When he tried to take a deep breath, he unwillingly took a coughing fit instead as a movement to his right popped in his vision. "Daniel?" a girl's voice called out.

When brain cleared up a bit, Daniel realized he'd been moved to a bed, laying on the covers while a rustling alerted him to two more people in the room. "Hey, Pyrrha. Jaune," Daniel greeted the two people at the foot of his bed.

"Daniel?" the same voice called out, making Daniel gaze to his side.

Slowly, joy began to welt up inside of Daniel. "Hey, Rubes," he breathed. Ruby managed not to sob in relief just yet as Daniel reached over and fiddled with a small thing on her neck. "You're still wearing that thing I gave you for your birthday," he mused.

It was too much for the poor girl. "Daniel," Ruby squealed, throwing her arms around Daniel's neck. The guy laughed as he wrapped his own around Ruby's waist, pulling into what considered to be a tight hug for his state. "You're back," Ruby cried out. Daniel was also crying, this time, finally, after a long fight against everything- cancer, himself, Cinder, and whatever life could throw at him-, they finally got their happy ending.

 **AN: It's 3:00 AM where I am. And I'm finally done. Hey guys Fireflame here. For chapter 27. The last one. The final one.**

 **12 months. 27 chapters. Plus a Winter Special. 41k views. 92 reviews. 105 favorites. 148 follows. 3 communities this is in. Over 200k words and 1153 KB of space on my computer and I have no idea now many pages it is exactly, but I can safely assume it's over 350 pages long. And I'm done. It's finally a close. Fin. Exit stage right. That's all, folks.**

 **Wow, I can't believe this is actually happening, though. A year ago, I thought this was going to be the hardest and most strenuous thing I'd ever done with maybe 20 people reading it every chapter post. The last chapter, you guys managed to put 715 views in less than 24 hours. So thank you.**

 **Thank you, everyone, who's been a part of this. YARN, for helping me beta a couple of chapters. the 105 and 148 that favorited this while I wanted to lose hope in it. And everyone that reviewed this. DePlexx, TGDB, the Guests, Cindermane, Apolios, Alternet RedSkys, Velocity The Wolf, Boyy2k, G3r1k, Dan Song, Jake Hallows, Drake187: you guys were the most vocal, so thank you, my Deltas (give credit to Apolios who coined that term for you guys). And TypicalHarshReview for being my first review as well!**

 **And the ones from the last chapter:**

DePlexx: **Pyrrha's here, and she's finally gotten Arkos to set sail. There you go, my friend. Enjoy.**

TGDB: **I'm just going to try and ignore that one review from Chapter 19 and… yeah. But thank you. Also, I know I'm supposed to be connected to my characters. It's boring when it feels like an essay instead of a story.**

 **PS: Ruby Ex Machina is ALWAYS predictable. Clichés are predictable, and I can't avoid all of them. Even if I wanted to.**

 **Man, this chapter… I told my friends who looked over the last chapter that I'd spaced this out horribly, and I did. I still had 7 scenes to go… about a week ago. So this was about a scene a day. Around 11k words in total, so do the math. It's a lot a day for the endurance test.**

 **This chapter, though… I'm extremely happy about it, but I'm not proud of it. I had so much I had to cut from it because it either didn't fit or I couldn't because of time restraints for myself, even though summer did start. (To be fair, the last 3 weeks were pretty hectic with finals week and preparation week). I was going to put in Penny, and Torchwick was supposed to be in a chapter or two, especially the last one, but I just couldn't find a good place for them. Sigh…**

 **Well, I guess I could always revise this… Anyway, rambling done. Fireflame's signing off for the last time, and with a bang, too! Not really, but I'm still gonna be writing! Just… maybe not full-fledged chapters for Wilting Rose, but Farayan Shen's gotta have some love (I didn't just make that dumb, stupid joke for no reason). Coming in 2017, "Lusus Naturae". That'll happen.**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **You know what? No. I'm not done with this story. I'm adding more. I honestly don't care. This is the ending- this chapter is the true ending. But I have so much more I want to add. I was bummed that I didn't get to do the other ending, so I'll do that too. I'll put on a few extra scenes after this one, though, just because I can extend this ending to a much better potential. Screw it, I'll also add in a few rough drafts I had for other scenes. THIS IS NOT THE END. NOT FOR ME, IT ISN'T. RUBIEL MUST BE COMPLETE. THE FLUFF HAS TO BE BETTER. I'm not going too far, though. No marriage, no kids, nothing like that. I might go to the end of the school year for Beacon, but that's about as far as I'll go. Anyways, love you all!**

" _Outside is so overrated." -Ernest Cline, Ready Player One._


	30. Extra 1: Happily Ever After

**AN: Wow, this story isn't dead yet! Hello, it's fireflame again. I know this chapter's really short, and it was supposed to be longer. But, you'll realize why I rushed this out.**

 **Disclaimer: Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me-eee, and I don't own RWBY!**

Extra 1: Settling Down

It had been three days since Daniel got his memories back, and he expected everything to be easier after everything that had happened. One tiring event after another, he was hoping to finally settle down for once as just a Hunter trying to get through school.

But, life decided that he needed just a bit more struggle before he could get there. The doctors told Ozpin and his group about Daniel's condition, and naturally, Ironwood stepped up to the cause. So, here he was, groaning and rubbing the stump of his leg as the elevator took him up to his room. There was a good thing, however. Losing a limb meant a lot less demand from him. So, Daniel was wheeling himself back to his room to relax, a bowl of popcorn sitting on his lap.

A few button presses on the keypad later, Daniel was pushing his way into his room, breathing in a deep sigh as he ended another day. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't the end just yet as there was a girl, black undershirt and white sweatpants, laying on his bed. Her feet were kicked up at the foot of the bed with a Scroll held high above her head, reading a magazine on her screen. Daniel let out a small yelp of surprise, jolting in his seat before he barely managed to keep the popcorn from falling. The girl whipped her head to the door, startled before a small smile donned her face. "Hi, Daniel," she greeted sweetly.

Daniel let out a shaky breath as he tried to stop his beating heart from pounding in his ribcage. "Ruby?" he finally asked, "What are you doing here? How'd you even get in here?"

Ruby let her feet dangle off the edge of the bed, a mischievous smile on her face. "Secret," she replied.

Daniel wheeled himself in, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "There's a keypad," Daniel pointed out, "Did you…?"

"It's an easy guess," Ruby said with a shrug, the smile permanent.

"How does anyone guess the atomic form for caffeine?" Daniel sputtered out with confusion donning more and more on him, "How did you know?" All he received was tilt to Ruby's head, that smirk growing more and more annoying with each passing second. "Velvet told you, didn't she?" Daniel sighed with his head bowed.

"It's not like the CCT Network," Ruby argued, "Pretty easy when think about it." Daniel gave her a look which clearly meant, " _Really?_ " All Ruby did was shrug before replying, "Also, you shouldn't leave your window unlocked. Especially when there's a tree I can climb outside."

At that, Daniel stared blankly at his girlfriend whose grin never left her mouth. He blinked once, then twice, and then groaned in frustration as his head hit his hands. "I just told you what my passcode is, didn't I?" he mused.

"Yep," Ruby chirped happily. At the sight of her defeated boyfriend, Ruby laughed and bounded towards him, pulling him into a hug. "Now there are two ways I can get in," she teased lightly.

"I'm going to change in," Daniel threatened.

Ruby pulled back for an instant, looking at Daniel's stoic face, before embracing him again. "No you won't," Ruby chirped.

Daniel laughed while he snaked his arms around Ruby's waist. "Yeah, probably not," he agreed.

The pair stayed like that for a minute or two before Ruby pulled away, sitting cross-legged on Daniel's bed. "So, Whatcha doing now?" she asked.

Daniel rolled himself over to a small device on his desk, snapping his Scroll into it as the projector came to life. "Was thinking about watching a movie," he told her. Then, he remarked under his breath with an eye roll, "Alone."

Ruby promptly ignored that last prompt as she straightened in interest. "Ooh, which one?" she inquired.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Meanwhile, back in RWBY's room, Yang was readying herself for bed when realization hit her. "Hey, guys?" she rang out to the others, "Where's Ruby?"

Blake looked up from the book she was with a sly smile. "I heard she was going to go up to Daniel's," she quipped with a knowing look in her eyes.

Weiss stopped combing her hair back, eyes shooting up to the faunus as a smile of her own dawned on her lips. "Is that so?" she mused, amused ( **AN: man, I always have time for puns** ).

Yang barked out a quick laugh before hefting herself onto her own bed as her teammates joined in on her laughter. "What do you think they're doing now?" she asked.

"Snogging," Weiss answered immediately. When Yang raised an eyebrow at her, Weiss sighed before explaining, "Kissing."

"No duh," Yang sassed, her voice stuttering a bit because of held-back laughter, "I mean what else."

"Probably watching a movie," Blake offered.

Yang laughed as she laid back, head thudding against her pillow. "I can see that," Yang thought aloud, "Ruby's always been a sucker for action and fantasy movies."

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

"No, no, no, no!" Ruby cursed, her arms flailing in frustration, "The guy's not supposed to die yet. He's the main villain for the entire series!"

Daniel sighed again while chuckling at his girlfriend's antics. "It's not funny," Ruby snapped, gesturing to the projection, "They can't get _anything_ right!"

Like Yang guessed, they were watching a movie. But that wasn't the entertainment Daniel was fixated on. Watching Ruby berate almost every aspect was well worth the terrible movie. "I thought you liked the book series," Daniel pointed out as his arm snaked around Ruby's waist, "Why do you hate the movie so much?"

Ruby jerked her head towards her boyfriend, a flabbergasted look plastered on her face. "Are you kidding?" she exclaimed, "They messed everything up! They can't even get the character looks right!" She gestured angrily towards the screen again. "She's supposed to have blonde hair, not brown!" Ruby finally caught sight of the endearing smile on Daniel's face. "What?" she blushed, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Daniel finally let out a booming laugh as he dragged Ruby back to lay on the bed with her squealing the entire way down. As his arms wrapped around Ruby, she made herself comfortable on his chest as she snuggled deep into him. "Next time," Daniel announced, still laughing, "I'll pick a better movie."

"You better," Ruby grumbled, her voice muffled by his shirt.

Daniel tilted his head down, examining the top of Ruby's head. "Yeah, you still can't pull off the angry look," Daniel announced with a smirk.

Ruby huffed indignantly, but Daniel could feel the smile that played on Ruby's lips. He started to play with her hair, both of them relaxing in the blissful silence. "So what were you doing today?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" Daniel hummed, his mind brought back down from the clouds.

"Where were you today?" Ruby asked.

Daniel clicked his tongue before answering, "Getting a new leg." Ruby's head shot up as she stared at Daniel intensely. "Apparently, Ironwood found out about my case." He tried to flex his stump of a leg for emphasis. "So he wanted to outfit me with a leg."

"That's cool," Ruby gushed, "So you'll be able to stay in Beacon?"

With a smile, Daniel nodded his head in confirmation. Then, a thought strayed into his mind, making his smile turn into a frustrated look as he groaned. "What?" Ruby questioned with narrowed eyes.

Daniel buried his face into the nape of Ruby's neck, making her blush madly. "I might not be able to come back," he admitted.

That snapped Ruby out of her trance. "What?" she exclaimed, "Why?"

"You're gonna be back to being Team RWBY," Daniel pointed out, "which means I'm stuck with having no team again. And I can't really come back without a team, can I?"

Ruby pressed a cheek comfortingly on Daniel's chest who just sighed again, his grip on Ruby slackening just a little. He was still able to feel the tension as she jerked up, an idea swimming in her bright eyes. "Ooh, there's another team you might be able to join."

Daniel blinked in surprise while he stared at his girlfriend. "Really? Who?" he rushed out.

"Cardin and Sky got arrested," Ruby explained, "So, Team CRDL now has two empty spots."

"That's…" Daniel tried to find his words, too surprised and excited at the news but also a bit horrified at the thought of the two traitors, "That's a thought. But what about the other missing slot?" This is when Ruby went unusually silent, tracing small circles into Daniel's sheets. "Ruby?" he drawled, his tone imploring.

Hesitant, Ruby offered, "Well, there is Emerald-."

"No," Daniel interrupted, an almost stone-like look in his eyes.

"Why not?" Ruby argued, "I liked her. Emerald was a good friend."

"And was on Cinder's side," Daniel pointed out, his jaw set.

"So? She switched when she realized it was wrong. She helped us."

Daniel saw he was losing his argument but kept pushing. "She was there when my mom died," he argued weakly.

"And that's why she switched," Ruby asserted, getting her own hardened look as she glared back at Daniel. "Why not give her a chance- you already did it."

"But," Daniel tried again, almost whining at this point, "It's going to be awkward."

"So, make it unawkward." And with that, Ruby had a triumphant look on her face.

"Ruby…" Daniel whined again, "It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is," she claimed, "And if you don't, I'll… I'll stop being your girlfriend for a month."

Daniel couldn't help himself as he let out a chuckled, pressing his cheek against the top of Ruby's head. "You drive a hard bargain," he said in a business-like manner.

"Daniel…"

He sighed. "Fine, I'll do it." Ruby let out a small yelp of victory, raising her fists up slightly. "I'm never going to win another argument again, am I?" Daniel realized.

"Nope," Ruby quipped happily.

He groaned in frustration as Ruby let out another melodic giggle, her arms wrapping around Daniel's chest. "That's just great," Daniel said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Aw," Ruby cooed, "I still love you." At her words, she felt the faunus freeze up under her. "Daniel?" she called out, a bit worried, "You okay?"

Her worries were ended by a swift but long kiss from Daniel, making Ruby melt down to her toes as she pulled away with a sigh. With a grin of her own, she peered up at Daniel who was looking at her in complete adoration. "That's the first time you said it," Daniel pointed out, giving Ruby another quick peck on the lips.

"Hmm?" Ruby asked, unable to stop smiling.

Daniel burrowed his head into Ruby's hair. "Love you too," he replied.

With a fluttering heart, Ruby nuzzled her way further into Daniel's chest, closing her eyes. "Mine," she claimed, tightening her hug on Daniel's chest.

Daniel chuckled silently as he tightened his own hold on her. "Yours."

 **AN: Aww, isn't fluff so much fun? Now's the point where you remember I always like to pair up fluff with a bit of angst. And now's when you think how horrifying my second ending's going to be compared to this one. Hey guys, fireflame here. And happy birthday to the great creator himself, albeit a bit late, and happy birthday to me! Anyway, I wanted to make this a bit longer but life's gotten tangled up recently. And you're probably not going to see me next month because I'm going to a writer's workshop! (Yay!) Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you guys.**

 **AHBookworm7: Hey, new friend! I don't know how you read this thing twice. I thought once was enough (says I, the one who read HP 7 times and PJO 12 times). I always will include a PJO reference somewhere. Exhibit A: Bananabeth. And let's have our fingers crossed since if this guy's lucky, we'll have some actual cover art for this story. I'd prefer something simple- broken crow wings around a wilting rose. Yeah, that'll do.**

 **Velocity the Wolf: One whole year... I'm not gonna let it end anytime soon, you know? But I'm not gonna drag it on- RoosterTeeth already has RvB for that. That series is good, but if it drags on for too long, it's going to crash. It's happened to too many good shows and books, and it's not going to happen to this one. Thanks for all the praise, but I have to say, I'm not** _ **that**_ **good at writing, am I? Yeah, Pyrrha's alive! Broken legs, but alive! And don't get your hopes up for Ruby. Well... you can, but I'm still gonna post the second version of the ending. And oh boy, I'm 95% sure at least 1 person will cry. Also, amnesia. I'm doing basically the exact opposite with Lusus Naturae. Someone knows everything they have to** _ **except one crucial detail**_ **. But oh well! Keeping people in the dark is so much fun sometimes.**

 **DePlexx: Hey, another one of the Deltas. Yeah, main story telling's done. From here on out, it's basically a wrap up of everything. Giving people their lives back, taking a couple more away, bringing together a few more people- you know, the basics. I'm sorry, but I'm not ending that far into the future. It's gonna be shorter and sweeter. But the Pyrrha and Jaune thing... that's something to think about. Next story... Yeah, no- not canon. In fact, this is probably more canon than the other one will be. Let's just say Lusus Naturae's take on Volume 2 and 3 is going to be very different.**

 **ThatGreenDooredBookshop: And the crossing-over delta that's a part of all 3 of my stories so far. Amnesia's a pain. Especially to write. I mean, you have to make sure it's significant enough while also making it believable, and on top of that, it can't be too overdramatic or else people won't buy it. But sure, experiencing it is worse (cue dramatic, sarcastic, and playful eye roll). Never watched Tokyo Ghoul, so can't comment on that. Yep. It's ending, but I'm giving it one last boost as a wrap-up. Be prepared for maybe 5 or so chapters.**

 **Kaec: Amazing name, first of all. Second, love you too. Fluff's coming your way. And then a massive dose of depressio- I mean what?**

 **Anyway, signing out:**

 **-Flames of Fire.**


	31. Extra 2: Winding Down

**AN: WE ARE ALIVE. Rejoice, puny mortal readers. It is I, the almighty God of Fire and Flames. Wow, that was arrogant- I am never going to do that again.**

 **Anyways, we're back and in business!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. Only my brain. And even then I think it's on loan because of the random thoughts that keep appearing- I really like Ruby's corruptible innocence.**

Chapter 29: Winding Down

It was calm. Nice, bright morning with the sun rising high in the sky with a few wisps of clouds blowing by the window. And with an almighty yawn, Daniel was awake. He threw his head back against the pillow while he stretched his arms up above, listening to the satisfying pop of his joints. It took Daniel a few more minutes to fully make sure he was still awake and not just dimly aware of his surroundings. And then he sat up to start his day.

Well, he tried to sit up, but a weight on Daniel's chest took him by surprise as he crashed back down onto the bed, wearing a surprised look. Then, tilting his head down just a bit, he smiled. There she was, calmly laying down on Daniel's chest, hair splayed around and cutting a curtain of hair around her face. One of Daniel's arms reached around and was about to shake Ruby awake, but he thought the better of it. It was too comfortable to ruin, he thought, as he relaxed, listening to Ruby's rhythmic breathing. " _Five more minutes._ "

And yet, Fate denied Daniel's request as a forceful knock came from the door. "Hey, Daniel," Yang's voice yelled from the other side, "We're going to need my sister back."

At her sister's voice, Ruby slowly awoke from her peaceful nap, turning over so her head was resting against Daniel's arm instead of his chest with her arms still wrapped around Daniel's chest. In the next moment, Ruby was groaning awake, and from the tension in her body, she wasn't pleased that her pleasant sleep was interrupted. "Hey, Sweetie," Daniel greeted with a sweet smile.

All he got in response was a tired voice groaning, "No…" Ruby pressed her face firmly into Daniel's side while she tried to ignore the second rapture on the door. "Go back to sleep," Ruby demanded halfheartedly.

Daniel chuckled to himself as he nudged his girlfriend, trying to pull his arm out from under her. But Ruby was determined to keep her pillow. "At least let me let her in," Daniel tried.

"No." Ruby pulled Daniel back with deceptively strong arms.

Another round of knocks came from the other side of the door, this time more forceful than the last two. "She'll break down the door, you know?" Daniel called out.

Ruby finally looked up at Daniel, a smile making her squint, somehow making her face even cuter than Daniel thought was possible. "Yep," she affirmed.

With an exasperated eyeroll, Daniel leaned forward to give Ruby a kiss which she gladly reciprocated. "Morning, Rubes. Can I answer the door now?"

Ruby was still pondering it while another pounding at the door jolted Daniel a bit. "Yo, Daniel," Yang's voice yelled, more forceful, "This door better be open in the next ten seconds."

Ruby let out an exaggerated sigh while she finally uncurled her arms from his chest. "Fine," she drawled, at last sitting up and stretching the sleep out of her system.

Daniel gladly snatched his arm back, jumping up into his wheelchair before pushing himself towards the door as another round of forceful knocking came around. Before Yang got the chance to break down the abused door, Daniel swung it open, a meek expression following the glare Yang was giving him. "Hey, Yang," he greeted, "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Ruby?" Yang asked sweetly, not going at all with the fire burning in her eyes.

With a sigh, Daniel turned his chair around, looking at his girlfriend that was still hidden behind the door. "And this is why I wanted to answer sooner," he called out.

"Where's the fun in that?" Ruby's voice rang out, the humor in it not overlooked. Yang pushed open the door and found Ruby still sitting on Daniel's bed, donning a small grin as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Hey, Yang," she greeted.

Yang gave the pair a raised eyebrow. "Mind telling me what you've been doing all morning?" She took another look around the room and laid her eyes on the still-rolling movie projected against the opposite wall. "And from the looks of it, last night?"

Daniel shrugged, answering, "Movie and sleep. What else?"

Yang's attention was now directed to the guy in the wheelchair. "I always pegged you as a morning person," she commented.

"I am," Daniel replied.

"Then why are you just waking up at two in the afternoon?"

"What?" Daniel exclaimed as his head whirled around. He finally noticed the sun high in the sky, definitely either late morning or midday. "Shit," he vocalized.

"Swear," Ruby pointed out.

"I have a meeting with Ozpin at three," Daniel rushed, racing over towards his closet while the sound of hangers rustling filled the air. And with a second thought, Daniel peeked a head out at the girls still in the room. "Could you guys leave now?" he asked, "For obvious reasons?"

Yang held up her hands in retreat. "I'm out," she replied, and as she headed for the door, Yang couldn't help but quip, "I can't say the same about Ruby, though." The girl in question turned as red as her namesake when a pillow flew through the air, hitting Yang in the back of the head.

"Yang," Ruby exclaimed, running after the fiery blonde who was laughing her way down the hall.

Daniel let out a soft chuckle as he threw off his shirt. " _Life's never going to get any saner than this_ ," he mused.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

An hour and a half later, Emerald found herself riding an elevator up to the Headmaster's office. She thought she was done. No more faking being a student, no more faking being a spy. She just wanted to be a normal girl for a chance, as normal as circumstances would allow. So, an unexpected call from a person that she'd rather not talk to until the next life (and even after that), all for a secret reason- needless to say, Emerald wasn't excited at the prospect.

The doors opened with a soft ding, interrupting Emeralds thoughts. Immediately, she was on guard and wary of the fact that it wasn't just Ozpin she had to talk to. There was Goodwitch standing off to the side, no doubt as Damage Control if anything went as Emerald expected it to be. In front of the desk were three guys- two Emerald vaguely recognized but had no clue to what their names could be, and the last one…

"Why am I here?" was the first thing that came out of Emerald's mouth as she stepped out of the elevator. "Better question: why am I here with him?" She pointed at Daniel. "What do you guys think is going to happen if you stuck us in the same room together?"

The two unnamed teens flickered their attention between Emerald and Daniel as the latter rolled his eyes. "Pleasure to meet you again," he greeted, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Ahem." Ozpin clearing his throat got the attention of the teens present. "If I may shed some light on the situation." Seeing as Emerald was waiting for answers instead of asking more questions, he went on, "You are all here because of a few reasons. All of you need complete teams if you are to remain here at Beacon, as the rules state. And Daniel here has put in a solution for all of you. So-."

"No," Emerald interrupted, "No way. There is no way you can expect me to work with Daniel."

"Shouldn't I be the one that says that," Daniel pointed out, "I think I'd have more of a problem working with you since-." His expression fell from indifferent to a sad reminisce, "You know…"

"Sure, like I don't feel guilty about it," Emerald snorted with the same heavy heart. "You know what it's like to kill off your biggest idol?"

"I have something close enough," Daniel snapped, making Emerald flinch back. He let out a frustrated breath as he dragged a hand through his jet-black hair. "Look, I hate it just as much as you do-."

"I beg to differ."

"But," Daniel went on, "let's just forgive and forget. Right? Let's just start fresh and go forward. You want it, and I know I do."

It was a few tense heartbeats before Emerald spoke again, "Fine. Try it out, but don't expect me to be enthusiastic about it." She then jerked her thumb to the other two boys whose mouths were hanging open at the exchange happening. "Who are they, then?" she asked.

"Dove Bronzewing and Russel Thrush," Ozpin answered. The two in question gave halfhearted waves and quick greetings. "They'll be your new teammates as well."

Emerald studied the pair with scrutinizing eyes. "Used to be Team CRDL, right?" she asked.

"That's right," Dove answered. Emerald noted the fact that he was giving her a pretty intense evil eye.

After a moment of thought, the corner of Emerald's mouth quirked. "Sure," she quipped, "I guess I'm fine with them."

"Excellent." Ozpin pulled out a small box, opening it and pulling out a few small cards the size of Emerald's palm. Distributing it to the four teens, Ozpin sat back as they studied their newest IDs. "You're now officially Team REDD, led by-."

"Don't finish that sentence," Emerald interrupted yet again, "If team names are an indication of who's leading, don't finish that sentence."

"Hey," Russel exclaimed, "What do you mean by that?"

Emerald lazily gazed over at the student in question. "What I mean is that I know how bad CRDL was." The two former members bristled at that. "And also, I know that Daniel could probably still beat you in his state right now. So, if Daniel's not the leader, I'm out." When Dove opened his mouth to shoot back a retort, she added, "And he's already led two teams- one of which was in the Battle."

The three other teens looked at her with a new perspective, mostly blatant shock that Emerald would choose to have Daniel as a leader. Goodwitch gave Emerald a deep stare that seemed to dig into her very soul's desires, but the one that Emerald squirmed under the most was Ozpin's contemplative look. And behind his folded hands, she swore she could see him smiling ever so slightly. "I see," Ozpin mused, "Well if that's the case, there are some very strong arguments to be made for Daniel's leadership."

"But Headmaster," Russel protested, "I could also prove that I'm fit for the role as well."

Emerald snorted. "Like that'll work. Once the summer's over, Daniel 'll be better than Incompetent One and Incompetent Two."

"Miss Sustrai," Goodwitch scowled, "These are your teammates you're talking to."

"I know," Emerald smirked, "This is how I talked to Mercury."

"And what about you?" Russel blurted.

The green-haired girl turned towards him with a questioning raised eyebrow. "And what about me?"

A smug demeanor fell onto Russel's face, yet he still maintained a serious frown. "You were part of the people that attacked Vale." Emerald tensed at his words, torn between slapping him and looking shocked. "How should we trust you?"

Emerald was at a loss for words, her mouth stuck with a swirl of emotions brewing in her. Before any were let out, though, Daniel- amazingly- stepped in for her defense. "People can have a change of heart," he announced, "I don't like it at all," he turned to Emerald, "but I think we can trust her."

Ozpin nodded along to their discussion, his gaze darting back and forth between the arguing teens. "I believe I have a satisfactory solution." The students looked up to the headmaster. "Daniel shall be the leader of your team."

"But sir," Russel started, "I know I can-."

"Yes, I've taken that into consideration," Ozpin noted, "But right now we do not want an experimental leader heading into their second year. Daniel has the experience between his time as a leader for both DEFS and DWBY, and as a result is much more fit for the role. I will," Ozpin continued as he noticed Russel's slumped shoulders, "however, be looking at the progress four of you to see if any changes are needed to be made." He folded his hands and rested his chin against the backs of them. "Do you agree to this?"

Exchanging looks with the others, Daniel nodded at Ozpin with Emerald following shortly after. After a moment's hesitation, Russel joined suit with a quick, "Sure." Only Dove was left as he looked at his closest friend, thinking he deserved it just as much as Daniel. Eventually, though, reason won out as he let out a sigh, and he nodded towards Ozpin as well.

"Congratulations," Ozpin announced, "You are now Team DRED." ( **AN: Dark Red** ). A few clicks on his keyboard later, and Ozpin now had a new team in the school's system. Shortly after, the four teens were dismissed, but Ozpin put in one last thing, "We'll have your next year's room prepared soon," making the students grimace at the thought.

 **-xXxX-Line Break-XxXx-**

Even though Ozpin dismissed them, Daniel's day of discomfort wasn't over. The elevator opened, and Daniel felt Russel and Dove elbow past him, jolting his wheelchair enough to be uncomfortable. Not as if they had to, but just because. Just the small act made Daniel sigh, exasperated. This was going to take a while to get a formable team together, he thought.

If that wasn't enough, Daniel felt his seat being pushed forward with nothing to do with himself. The faunus let out a swift yelp, turning around to see Emerald pushing his chair forward with a stone-set expression. "We need to talk," she said.

"Alright, then," Daniel shot back with an eyeroll. "Talk."

Emerald scowled lightly at his demeanor, pushing them into a deserted corridor before stopping. She made her way over to a wall facing Daniel, leaning her back against it with the scowl still present. "Why did you do that back there?"

A raised eyebrow from Daniel was all she received. "Do what?" he asked.

Emerald sighed, "Defend me. How can you say you trust me like that? After all I did?"

Silence held the air for the longest time. With every passing second, tension climbed into Emerald's form as Daniel studied her, eyes swirling with thoughts. "I don't know," he managed out, "You… you don't seem like the kind of girl that does stuff without a reason. So, you switching sides seems like there's still something... redeemable, you know?"

A small snort escaped Emerald. "And yet, you trust me?"

"Contrary to what you think- and even what I think at times-, you're not a horrible person. At least you looked up to my mom; that should count for something."

Emerald's gaze fell onto her shoes, unable to meet Daniel's own. With a sigh, Daniel started to himself away, leaving the green-haired girl to contemplate her own place. "Hey, Daniel," Emerald called out when he was just a few feet from turning a corner.

Daniel turned to see Emerald looking up now. This time, she had a sparkle in her eyes that Daniel hadn't seen before. It suited her- not like the indifferent looks or dulled eyes like every other time. "Thanks," Emerald said.

Now, Daniel could crack a smile while replying, "We're teammates now. Get used to it."

"Sure thing, Cripples."

And there went Daniel's smile, stolen by Emerald who was wearing it with the smuggest expression he'd seen on her. "This _is_ how you treated your teammates, huh?" he snorted.

"Yep," Emerald quipped, popping the 'P'. Daniel only laughed as his form disappeared behind the corner, his laughs bouncing down the halls and filling Emerald with some hope, however small.

 **AN: And there you have it. It's back from the dead. Hey, guys. Fireflame here. Yes, this is an update, and no, I was not held hostage to try and make this chapter. Laziness settles in fast when you feel like you've accomplished your goals.**

 **Anyway, I'm back in business! For now. But still, I'm back! And I'll be getting into the reviews.**

 **AHBookworm7: Absolutely. Down with PJO (movie), up with rereading the crap of literally anything good.**

 **ThatGreenDooredBookshop: But I like making fun of people's fears. That's how I made this story, man. Man, this is going to be so fun, writing the second ending. But I guess I'll have to stick to fluff and fun.**

 **STRQ: Yep. Annabeth Jackson. You get it. And I got you, you got your chapters. I had to replace Sky Lark, though.**

 **StarWarsLover1998: DRED. It was gonna be DLED Dark Lead, but I just thought this was so much cleaner and better.**

 **Tigracho: No, it's fine man. Thanks for the heads up. I just think sigh is more versatile than gasp in most situations.**

 **115431: Because I can. Next one!**

 **No, but seriously, I got rid of his wings for 2 reasons. 1: because I felt like it. 2: I didn't know faunus weren't supposed to be birds, so I had to fix it.**

 **Aisuhanta: Cheep is a bird. Cheapskate is an insult. There's your pun.**

 **AHBookworm7: again. Oh yeah, that chapter. I forgot how much I let on there. Shame it came in handy in later chapters, right?**

 **And there's the chapter. Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Signing out, Flames of Fire.**


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